Pitt reflects on F1 car debut for McLaren at COTA

Brad Pitt revealed he wants the chance to improve on his Formula 1 debut after just falling short of his 200mph target during a run in Lando Norris’ 2023 McLaren.

The star of F1: The Movie, Pitt got behind the wheel of a fully-fledged F1 car for the first time as part of a Testing of Previous Cars programme for McLaren at Circuit of the Americas.

Pitt, 61, plays returning racer Sonny Hayes in the F1 blockbuster, released globally this week, but the cars driven by the A-lister and his APX GP team-mate Damson Idris are based on F2 models.

Taking to the track in Austin, Pitt had been given advice by Lando Norris, whose 2023 MCL60 he then got to experience first-hand – but was left wanting more.

“I got to hit 197 (miles per hour) this week,” Pitt told the Beyond the Grid podcast when talking about the experience.

“I really wanted to hit 200, it hurts me a little bit. Three miles per hour short on the straight. I’ve never experienced anything that’s just a more feeling of presence in my life because you’re so focused, but not you’re not white knuckling.

“You’re just in this, like, sublime groove. It is really extraordinary. And I try to explain this feeling of downforce and I fail every time because you try to say, like, a roller coaster, but that’s not even right because you feel a fulcrum point underneath you. You’re in it.

“I was in an aerobatic plane once and it’s the closest thing. But still, this thing, this is such a unique feeling and an absolute high.

“I’m still on a high. I really am. I’m just still on a high. And I can’t thank Zak Brown and the team and spent the day out with Lando. And just what a high.”

F1: The Movie has received largely positive reviews and immerses viewers deep into the series, with cameos from a host of drivers and all of the 2024 teams featured.

While Pitt and Idris – who plays young upstart Joshua Pearce – shared time with the likes of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, they were not able to get their hands on F1 machinery.

That changed with Pitt’s outing in Austin and the Fight Club star admitted it was an altogether different experience.

“The step up? It’s massive,” he added. “Certainly the pickup is nothing that I had experienced before. It’s just more, more, more, more brakes, more speed, more cornering power.

“I want to go back again, and I want to beat the time. I want to beat the time. I want to beat the time!”