Will we have the chance to discover in the coming months Brad Pitt on the starting line of a Grand Prix, in the middle of Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso? If this prospect looks like an April Fool’s Day shifted by a big month, ESPN gave credit to this improbable meeting mixing Formula 1 and cinema, by posting a message on Twitter Thursday evening. “Brad Pitt will drive a real F1 car alongside the rest of the grid at Silverstone, as part of a new film being produced,” said the American channel, in a tweet seen by more than 9 million people.
ESPN then specified that the prestigious Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) and Joseph Kosinski (director) planned on this occasion to follow an unofficial “11th team”, in order to film scenes on the track for the rest of the season. A crazy project made almost credible by the presence in the paddock of the Pitt-Bruckheimer-Kosinski trio, in October 2022 during the United States Grand Prix in Austin (Texas).
Mercedes will design an F2 or an F3 for Brad Pitt
Likewise, this future feature film around Formula 1, which will tell the story of a veteran driver coming out of retirement (Brad Pitt, you guessed it), is closely supported by Lewis Hamilton, co-producer and consultant of luxury. In June 2022, Joseph Kosinski announced that he wanted to “capture this world of F1 in the most authentic way possible”. “The idea is to film real cars, in real races, and to give the public the feeling of being in one of these F1 cars”, specified the director of Top Gun: Maverick. Kosinski and Bruckheimer’s ambition is to “create the most precise and impressive racing film ever seen”. OK, so Brad Pitt will be, at 59, the 21st driver at the next British Grand Prix at Silverstone (July 7 to 9), before racing until the end of the season?
Since ESPN’s tweet, this crazy idea of seeing the star actor fight with professional pilots has been denied, in particular by Andrew Benson. This English BBC journalist is convinced that Brad Pitt’s single-seater will not be on the Silverstone circuit at the same time as the cars which will take part in the world championship. “Yes, Brad Pitt will be filmed on the track at Silverstone, but in an F2 and not an F1, and never on the track with the other cars”, specifies Andrew Benson on Twitter. The media the race confirms that the immortal Tyler Durden will be behind the wheel of an adapted car designed by Mercedes, namely an F2 or an F3. If only for security reasons, it seems to be a complete no-brainer. But ESPN managed to overwhelm us for a whole evening, we must admit.
