Brad Pitt tipped for motorsports career following "F1" movie success

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown believes that Brad Pitt could look for a career in motorsports following the F1 film, much like fellow actor Patrick Dempsey, who has raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Pitt and his co-star, Damson Idris, both drove Formula 2 cars specifically modified to look like Formula 1 cars for the recent Joseph Kosinski film. The Hollywood star also recently took to the Circuit of The Americas with McLaren, where he drove Lando Norris' 2023 F1 car alongside former driver and Sky Sports F1 analyst Martin Brundle.

Brown discussed the experience during practice at Silverstone ahead of the British Grand Prix, revealing that he was impressed by how seriously Pitt took it.

“Brundle had him covered, but I’ll tell you what, Brad was impressive," Brown explained to Sky Sports F1. "He took it very seriously. He wanted to see his data, thoroughly enjoyed it.

"I wouldn’t be surprised, as we’ve seen with Patrick Dempsey, people get a taste of driving. And they, like Paul Newman said, he was a racing driver and a part-time actor, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brad back out at some point.”

Pitt also spoke about driving the MCL60 during an appearance on the Beyond The Grid podcast.

“I got to hit 197mph this week. I really wanted to hit 200. You know, it hurts me a little bit – three miles per hour short on the straight. This was at Austin," he said at the time.

Brad Pitt at the World Premiere of F1 The Movie

Photo by: Getty Images

“I've just never experienced anything that's just, more feeling of presence in my life. You're so focused, but you're not white knuckling. You're just in this sublime groove. It is really extraordinary.

“I try to explain this feeling of downforce, and I fail every time because you try to say like a rollercoaster, but that's not even right, because you feel the 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 [enough]. I spent the day out with Lando [Norris] – just what a high, what a high."