To finish fifth and still stand on the Formula One podium made for an unusual end to George Russell’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
On the other side of the rostrum was Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver who had already been on the podium on Sunday evening after recovering from 19th on the grid to finish third behind Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz.
In between Russell and Leclerc in his white and black race suit was Sonny Hayes, the veteran racer from APXGP.
Hayes is the fictional character played by Brad Pitt in “F1,” the movie produced by Warner Bros. and Apple that has embedded itself within the F1 world for the past two seasons. APXGP, Pitt’s fictional team owned by Javier Bardem’s character, has received a full garage setup at races and lined its Mercedes-designed cars up on the starting grid, so committed has the sport been to making this the most realistic racing film ever.
On Sunday after the race in Abu Dhabi, a second podium ceremony was staged to capture some scenes, all in front of fans who had been told to stay in their seats after the race for a chance to be caught in the movie.
The F1 season has been run and won, but perhaps no one was happier to be trackside for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix than Brad Pitt.
The Hollywood star has been a fixture of the F1 paddock for the last 18 months since he took the F1 world by surprise by popping up with his own garage at last year’s British Grand Prix.
Pitt and his co-star Damon Idris were the talk of Silverstone that weekend and have been at several race weekends this year filming their racing movie, simply titled F1.
It’s a collaboration between F1 and Apple TV, with the plot centred around a former driver who comes out of retirement to help mentor a younger driver and try win a championship.
Brad Pitt will go all out to promote the June 2025 release of F1, producer Jerry Bruckheimer said Thursday.
“Brad is really invested in this movie,” Buckheimer said during an appearance at Liberty Media‘s investor day in New York. “He doesn’t like to do press, but I think we’ll take him on a world tour where he’ll be glad to show his efforts in driving and acting in this movie.”
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