Brad Pitt gets shock F1 opportunity at US circuit

Brad Pitt for his F1 Movie — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Off the Track

Brad Pitt gets shock F1 opportunity at US circuit

Brad Pitt is the star of the upcoming F1 movie

By Sam Cook.

Sunday 22 June 2025 18:25

Hollywood legend Brad Pitt has been handed a shock opportunity to test an F1 car at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

In recent years, Pitt has become a familiar face in the paddock due to his starring role in the upcoming F1 movie, which has been filmed at real grand prix weekends over the last few seasons.

In the movie, the Hollywood A-lister plays Sonny Hayes, a retired F1 racer who decides to rejoin the sport to race for a team named APXGP, alongside rookie Joshua Pearce, who is played by British actor Damson Idris.

Article continues under video

Both Pitt and Pearce drove F2 cars modified to look like F1 machinery during their shooting of the movie, but now, it appears the latter has been fortunate enough to get a chance to drive the real thing.

McLaren hand Pitt golden opportunity

McLaren even dropped a major hint on their social media, posting the caption, 'It's a Sonny day in Austin', accompanied by a picture of racing overalls with the initials BP.

One interesting aspect of the above is that the test was with McLaren, and not Mercedes or Ferrari, for example.

Lewis Hamilton is receiving a production credit for the new F1 movie, and various Hollywood stars have praised his role in the making of the film, including Pitt, Idris, Jerry Bruckheimer, and Hans Zimmer.

This also meant that the film's stars built up good relationships with Toto Wolff and George Russell during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, yet no F1 test, that we know about, was given.

Instead, Pitt reportedly took to the track in the MCL60, McLaren's 2023 challenger, with title hopeful Norris having shown him the ropes.

F1 fans in North America can finally watch the highly anticipated movie on Friday, with a release date of June 27 in the United States.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by McLaren (@mclaren)

Written by

Sam Cook - Digital Journalist

Sam Cook is a talented young sports journalist and social media professional who now specialises in Formula 1, having previously worked as a football journalist and a local news reporter for a variety of different brands.

View full biography

NASCAR Mercedes F1 Circuit of the Americas Brad Pitt