McLaren boss offers Brad Pitt second chance to hit 200 mph
Brad Pitt’s F1 movie is topping the box office charts worldwide but the Hollywood A-lister is not done with Formula One, or racing.
Like his fictional big screen character Sonny Hayes, Pitt has been offered a second chance to don race overalls and lap at 322kmh.
McLaren F1 chief executive Zak Brown told Reuters on July 2 that Pitt had a standing offer to “come out and play” – and expected the 61-year-old not only to take him up on it but also take his passion for racing further.
Pitt drove a Formula One car for the first time with McLaren at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas in June, after driving F2 cars disguised as F1 cars for the movie, and has been raving about the experience ever since.
He did have one regret, however.
“Ask me how fast I went. Three mph short of 200mph (322kmh),” Pitt said, at the New York premiere. “I want to go back. I want to hit 200.”
Brown indicated that it could be arranged.
Brad Pitt says he and Tom Cruise almost costarred in Ford v Ferrari
Tom Cruise hit the breaks on Joseph Kosinski’s adaptation of Ford v Ferrari after he learned that he would have limited time behind the wheel, according to Brad Pitt.
Pitt had been initially been attached to star opposite Cruise in an early version of the film about race car driver Ken Miles and automotive designer Carroll Shelby from his F1 director Kosinski, who recently directed Cruise in the blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick.
“What it came down to is that we both wanted to drive,” Pitt told The National News. “When Tom realized that Carroll Shelby would not be driving much in the movie, it didn’t come through.”
Brad Pitt Keen On Finally Working With Director Paul Thomas Anderson
Some filmmaker and actor pairings make perfect sense when you truly think about it. Or at the very least, some duos you’d think would get a studio excited about the potential. One of those is seeing Brad Pitt and Paul Thomas Anderson (“Boogie Nights”) working together, and when it comes to Pitt, he’s open to the idea.
During his recent appearance on The Kelce Brothers podcast “New Heights” to promote “F1,” Pitt revealed he’d very much like to work with Anderson when directly asked about a dream co-star or director the Oscar-winner would like to work with in the future that he hasn’t been able to.
“I’m a huge [Paul Thomas Anderson] fan. I think he’s just damn brilliant,” Pitt said in response to the question of speaking a actor or director pairing into existence.
WATCH: Go behind the scenes as Brad Pitt drives Lando Norris’ F1 car in Austin
Between appearing on the red carpet for the film’s premiere and speaking to the world’s media on a promotional tour, Pitt headed to Austin’s Circuit of The Americas to meet up with McLaren racer Lando Norris.
There, Norris offered Pitt a few tips and tricks before the Hollywood star was let loose at the United States Grand Prix venue in the 2023-specification MCL60 – an experience that left him shaking with excitement.
