Brad Pitt will be racing with an 11th “team” at Silverstone
Brad Pitt will take part in the Grand Prix Weekend at Silverstone. For the needs of the film about Formula 1, a garage has been set up to be the 11th team on the grid. The actor could even drive during a fictional warm-up lap with the championship drivers.
This weekend, Formula 1 is heading to Silverstone. The British Grand Prix will have a special feature: Brad Pitt will be playing the role of an F1 driver, filming a movie about Formula 1. The actor will be driving on the track in a F2 car disguised as an F1 car thanks to the collaboration with Mercedes.
The 150,000 fans who were expected to be present this weekend are therefore expected to have a supporting role. Directed by Joseph Kosinski, the director of Top Gun: Maverick, Brad Pitt will play a Formula 1 driver. For safety reasons, the American actor is not expected to film driving scenes alongside the race cars.
According to the latest information, a garage has been set up in the same way as the other teams on the grid.
The cars prepared for the movie could take part in the single-seater parade to position themselves on the starting grid. The pits would have also been prepared to replicate tire changes.
What we know about the movie
The film is co-produced by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Will Buxton revealed on his Twitter account that Lewis Hamilton is in constant communication with the directors and advises them on the script to ensure that the most realistic racing film ever made is produced. The British driver probably played a big role in allowing Brad Pitt to drive during a Grand Prix weekend, as mentioned here.
It is also Mercedes who developed the two cars that will serve as models for the film. They will not be Formula 1 cars but indeed Formula 2 cars that have been transformed, by the Silver Arrows, to have a real team 11.
The achievement would be a technological feat
The director Joseph Kosinski is no stranger to extreme filmmaking, he directed Top Gun: Maverick. In 2022, the director already had the idea of capturing this world in the most authentic way possible, filming real cars in real races, and giving the audience the feeling of what it’s like to be in one of these F1 cars.
The movie about F1 will be at the forefront of technology, much like the latest Top Gun. For the needs of the film, the scenes will be filmed using the smallest camera capable of streaming images in 6K, in order to provide a better immersion in the cockpit.
No driving during official sessions
The fake F1 car of Brad Pitt obviously won’t be racing during the F1 Grand Prix. It is expected to do some test runs between certain sessions and, according to rumors, might even join the F1 cars in a fictional warm-up lap a few minutes before the start of the Grand Prix.
