Brad Pitt films scenes for upcoming Formula 1 movie at the British Grand Prix

When Formula 1 descended on the Silverstone circuit for the British Grand Prix this weekend, beloved drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen weren’t the only stars spotted on track. Brad Pitt was on hand to shoot scenes for his untitled F1 racing drama, which Joseph Kosinski is directing for Apple. Pitt dressed up in a uniform for the fictional APXGP team and took a lap around the track in a customized F1 car before the race started.

In an interview with Sky Sports conducted at the Grand Prix, Pitt offered some new details about the film’s plot and praised the drivers who make the sport so exhilarating.

“I’d be a guy who ran in the ’90s,” Pitt said of his character in the film. “He has a horrible crash, kind of sucks and disappears, and then he races in other disciplines. And then his friend, played by Javier Bardem, is the owner of a team. They are a last place team, they are 21 or 22 on the grid, they have never scored a point. And they have a young phenomenon played by Damson Idris, and he introduces me as a sort of Hail Mary. And the hijinx ensues.

Related stories

Pom Klementieff Says Tom Cruise Got Her Into Skydiving: ‘I Love The Run’

Hari Nef Says ‘Barbie’ Is ‘Greta Gerwig’s Drag Race’: ‘I Was Bandaged, Wigged, Painted From Head To Toe’

Pitt praised Kosinski for shooting the film with the same commitment to technical realism that made “Top Gun: Maverick” such a thrilling spectacle. Pitt drives an F1 car at top speed during his race scenes, with cameras mounted around the vehicle to capture every angle of the drive.

“I’ll tell you what’s remarkable about this. You see cameras mounted all over the car. You’ve never seen speed, you’ve never seen gravity like this. It’s really, really exciting. And it’s really humiliating. I don’t know if you can call my hot ride, it’s kind of a hot ride. I’ve done a few tours unintentionally through the grass, but it’s been so high.

All eyes in the crowd were on Pitt as he circled the track to film his scene, and the Oscar winner is well aware that the avid F1 fan would have had a few notes on his performance. But he asked viewers to be patient until they see the film, explaining that many of the mistakes he made on track were part of the script.

“To all the armchair experts out there, you need to give us some breathing room,” he said. “If you see spin-outs or anything that appears to be a stall, it’s by design.”