Film shooting at races in England
Brad Pitt’s ego suffered while driving over the Formula 1 course
Everyone is talking about the Hollywood star at the Silverstone race. For the “most authentic motorsport film of all time” Brad Pitt even drives a modified car around the track – albeit not without problems.
Brad Pitt was just blown away after his long weekend at Silverstone. “I’m having the best time of my life,” said the Hollywood star after the start of filming on a still nameless flick in the Formula 1 cosmos – during which the 59-year-old is practically part of the premier class circus. Full of praise and respect for Formula 1 and the drivers in particular, Pitt spoke on the sidelines of the British Grand Prix. “The teams opened their doors to us, the FIA helped us a lot, Formula 1 and Stefano Domenicali. Everyone was fantastic,” he told Sky Sports UK.
Pitt was “warmly welcomed” by the drivers when he and director Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun Maverick) attended the pre-race drivers’ briefing. World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who is executive producing the film, said it was “probably the best driver briefing we’ve ever had.”
The actor, for example, walked to the starting grid alongside professional Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz. He also drove around the track in a modified racing car. “Nothing broke, just my ego,” Pitt said afterwards on Sky about an involuntary slip with his fictional APEX racing car. He was also spotted with two stunt drivers, according to Page Six. The actor told Sky Sports that he felt “a little dizzy” before stepping on the grid.
Formula 1 drivers between euphoria and indifference
In the film, Pitt plays the aging Formula One driver Sonny Hayes, who joins a Formula One team represented at Silverstone by a fictional eleventh team in the pit lane. The converted Formula 2 cars took the grid positions for the race and completed part of the formation lap before the start of the Grand Prix. The black and gold racing cars were driven by the racing drivers Craig Dolby and Luciano Bachetta.
According to “Variety”, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joseph Kosinski already revealed at the beginning of May that the Hollywood star will get into a real racing car for the film on the edge of the British Grand Prix. The two promised the most authentic motorsport film of all time. When working on their joint film “Top Gun: Maverick” they would have developed the “smallest moving 6k camera” ever. It should bring the viewer directly into the cockpit. Brad Pitt raved in an interview with “Sky Sports”: “You’ve never seen such speed, you have never seen such G-force, it’s really, really exciting.” Cameras are installed everywhere in the racing car.
Mercedes driver George Russell said it was a surreal experience sharing the seat with Pitt: “It’s one of those experiences where you see a world star for the first time.” Pitt was “joking around, having a good time and just being one of the guys,” Russell said. World champion and championship leader Max Verstappen, on the other hand, was not impressed. “I think they’re going to take some footage of all the drivers, with onboard cameras and stuff. I can’t deal with that.”
