Photos: Brad Pitt drives McLaren F1 car at COTA

Pitt completed a private test day with McLaren Racing at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, where he drove the team’s 2023 Formula 1 car, the MCL60.

The special event marked the culmination of a two-year film project in which Pitt portrays fictional F1 driver Sonny Hayes. The track session was arranged by McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown and followed Pitt’s recent visit to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, where he took part in simulator runs, seat fitting, and engineering briefings.

Pitt’s MCL60 run comes just as F1 The Movie, an Apple Original Films production, launches globally. Directed by Top Gun: Maverick’s Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Pitt, Lewis Hamilton, and others, the film blends real-world F1 footage shot at Grand Prix events with high-octane drama.

The story follows Sonny Hayes, a 1990s F1 prodigy whose career was derailed by a crash. Decades later, he is lured back to the sport by former teammate Ruben Cervantes (played by Javier Bardem) to help revive a failing team.

Paired with rising star Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris), Hayes must confront his past as he races against both rivals and time.

The cast includes Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, and Javier Bardem. Much of the film was shot during real F1 weekends, with APX GP cars integrated into the paddock and race action.

F1 The Movie is now showing internationally in cinemas and IMAX from 25 June, and opens across the United States from 27 June 2025.