Lewis Hamilton has been impressed with Brad Pitt’s driving since the actor began preparing to star in the Mercedes driver’s F1 movie.
Filming for the upcoming production will take place during the British Grand Prix weekend. Pitt is driving a car which will run separately from the F1 sessions, and the footage used to create action sequences for the film.
Pitt is 59, which is considerably older than even the oldest ever driver to participate in a grand prix – 55-year-old Louis Chiron in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix. But Hamilton says he looks the part and has performed well on-track in their filming sessions ahead of this weekend.
“Brad looks like he’s ageing backwards,” said Hamilton. “He looks great for his age.
“Of course that was a big topic at the beginning when we were discussing the first story. But he’s super-fit, he’s been training.”
Hamilton is confident Pitt’s age won’t undermine the authenticity of the film. “At the end of the day, it’s a movie, so there will be a Hollywood element to it that will make it believable.
“I think Brad, he’s such an iconic actor, he’s always done such an incredible job so I can’t tell you how excited I am to have Brad Pitt in Formula 1, it’s incredible.”
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Pitt has already had several opportunities to drive the modified Formula 2 car which is masquerading as a Formula 1 car for filming purposes. The seven-times champion has been impressed by the actor’s performances at the wheel.
“We did do a day together at a track in LA and he drove – for someone that hasn’t raced, he’s definitely already got a keen eye. He loves watching Moto GP so he’s always been a racing enthusiast. And he already a knack for the lines and he was definitely fully, fully on it, which was good to see.”
The film is being produced by Apple Films and the crew producing it will have several opportunities to capture footage during grand prix weekends, though not at the same time as track sessions. Hamilton said he’s “really incredibly grateful” to F1 and its owners Liberty Media for allowing the project to go ahead, and suggested it would never have happened when their predecessors CVC Capital Partners, and CEO Bernie Ecclestone, were in charge.
“I don’t know if this would have been possible 10-plus years ago when the old management was in place. They wouldn’t have perhaps seen this as an important step in terms of the sport’s growth.
“But we’ve already seen the great work and impact of the Netflix show and I think this will take it to new heights beyond that. There’s so many people that around the world, as you’ve seen already, they’re so excited about this sport wanting to learn more and the fact that we will have all the original characters that are actually on the grid and then Brad, that’s pretty cool.”
Producers and directors Jerry Bruckheimer and Joe Kosinski have set up a mock F1 garage for their fictional team APX GP at Silverstone this weekend. Hamilton intends to inspect the set-up during the race weekend.
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“I just saw Jerry walking in, I haven’t been to see the garage yet, but I know on the other side I was here a week or two I think it was before Austria watching Brad practice. And it’s massively exciting to see it all coming together and to know that we’re finally starting to film this weekend.
“There’s nerves, naturally, because it’s something we’ve been working on for so long and we want everyone to love it and to really feel that we encapsulate what the essence of this sport is all about. So that’s our goal, I hope we can do you proud.”
Hamilton expected the finished film, which is still untitled, will give a greater impressions of the spectacle of F1 racing than the real thing does on television, due to the way it’s being filmed.
“Our cameras are a lot better than what you’re seeing when you’re watching TV. I’ve seen all the footage of the camera positions, I’ve spent time with Joe trying to make sure we’ve got the best camera positions and the frame rate’s different.
“It’s going to look fast. I think it’s going that faster than it does on TV, because I think it’s something to do with the frame rate that we have to have. But Joe is an incredible director and I think you’ve already saw what he’d done with fighter jets, what he did with [Top Gun] Maverick. You just think about what he’s done with that in terms of the dogfights you saw on those jets, which was pretty epic. And bringing in that technology and that viewpoint into our world, I think is going to be amazing.”
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