Brad Pitt loses sim race to BBC radio host Greg James despite extensive F1 movie training

Brad Pitt flipped off BBC radio host Greg James after losing a sim race at F1 Arcade. The A-lister, who is in the midst of a global press tour for the F1 movie, made an appearance on James’ radio show with co-star Damson Idris. The trio spent time sim racing around Silverstone, Monza and Spa-Francorchamps, with Pitt finishing behind the British media personality in two of the races.

The Hollywood heavyweight, who described himself as highly competitive, accrued just 575 points behind Idris’ 1125 and James’ 1200. However, it was all in good fun as Pitt ultimately offered his congratulations to the radio host.

Elsewhere in the interview, which took place in London earlier this week, Pitt discussed his recent McLaren test at the Circuit of the Americas.

“I heard a rumor that you've driven the McLaren F1 car?” James asked, to which Pitt responded, “Ask me if I hit 200 miles per hour.” He then revealed that he was just “three miles per hour short.” He went on, “I didn't sleep for 36 hours it was such a high. It was Lando's 2023 car. He didn't have a lot of faith in me, which is fair enough, the time I put up wasn't even close to his. His advice was just ‘don't c*** it up,’ which I think is fair advice.”

Brad Pitt, McLaren MCL60

Photo by: McLaren

The 61-year-old, who plays washed-up former driver Sonny Hayes in the summer blockbuster, admitted it “hurt” to miss his target by such a fine margin. “Three miles per hour short on the straight. I've never experienced anything that's more a feeling of presence in my life,” he said on the Beyond the Grid podcast earlier this week. “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.” Pitt said the closest comparison was taking flight in an aerobatic plane. “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 enough.” 

In the film, he and Idris drove F2 cars that were modified by Mercedes to resemble the multi-million-dollar machines on the F1 grid. “The step up? It's massive,” he said of driving the MCL60. “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!”