F1: Brad Pitt revolutionizes Formula 1 at Silverstone by becoming a driver more

The Oscar-winning actor is shooting a movie in Silverstone with the full collaboration of the World Cup: he rides on the circuit with a single-seater, he has his own garage and he even does a formation lap on Sunday

Brad Pitt he has a fascinating ability. Many, it is supposed, but one that anyone can observe. In Silverstone There are only 40 meters between his motorhome and his garage and he runs through them, barely showing himself for a few seconds, but he still gives his fans a dozen selfies. The public, excited. How nice, how kind. It’s really a talent. His legs don’t stop, but his face does; she freezes her smile waiting for the ‘click’ of the camera and then goes for another one. Without stopping running. Without wasting a moment. When she disappears, it seems that he has spent hours attending to his followers because behind them are full phones and a few anecdotes to exaggerate.

The formula 1 She is very used to receiving celebrities of all kinds, but the protocol is almost always the same: they show up on Sunday an hour after the race, walk around the grill, let themselves be seen, eat something, drink something and leave before they even leave. know who is the winner. In case of Brad Pitt it is very different. Brad Pitt is here in silverstone like another pilot. To an extent never seen before: train on the court with a formula 2 adapted by Mercedes so that a formula 1 -with sponsors like IWC either Tommy Hilfiger-, has a garage among those of Ferrari and Mercedeshas a box on the wall and tires Pirelli officials and, among other things, on Sunday to do the formation lap together with the rest of the grid. It’s not a billionaire whim. He’s working.

The presence of Brad Pitt and a whole team of hollywood in the circuit of Silverstone answers recording a movie from Apple Studios that still does not have a title or a release date, but that is already accumulating expectation. Under the direction of Joseph Kosinski, the man behind Top Gun: Maverick, the plot will sound familiar to anyone who has seen the latest Tom Cruise movie. Brad Pitt is Sonny Hayes, a veteran driver who had to leave Formula 1 for dramatic reasons and years later returns to train a promising young man, Joshua Pierce, played by Damson Idris. Both share equipment, the Apex, and a stormy relationship.

The film has the total collaboration of the World Cup who sees in the project a way to attract new followers, to multiply the success of the ‘Drive to Survive’. In fact, the film will dramatize the tensions between teammates, precisely the part in which the Netflix documentary shows more finesse. “Real images will be used, but the actors will not interact with the World Cup pilots. No one appears as a rival or enemy of the protagonists,” they comment from the producer and insist that it be a white job that does not harm anyone’s image.

Apparently these days in Silverstone the intention is clear: not to disturb. Beyond the frenzy it provokes Pittthe rest of the team withdraws when there is activity on the track, just in case the actors who act as mechanics are allowed to take some photos.

There is a completely black motorhome reserved for Pitt and company, a fenced space for the set and some moments -between 10 and 15 minutes- in which the actors appear on the asphalt. “High Speed ​​Shooting”, put in the schedule. There are no stuntmen, there are no stuntmen, it is Pitt who drives the adapted Formula 2 and he does it with skill. With lewis hamilton As a teacher -and executive producer of the film- the Oscar-winning actor has spent four months learning to drive a single-seater between Silverstone and the French track of Paul Ricard. His car is full of cameras, but run, go run. His challenge is not to delay the others in the formation lap that he will take on Sunday. And it will continue to improve because the film will continue to be shot at the next Hungarian Grand Prix and at other future races.

The true protagonists of the grid have not been asked for anything, some drivers did not even know about the film this Thursday, although there will be a change in their cars. One or two of the ‘on board’ cameras less used by the World Cup broadcast will be replaced by 6K cameras for the movie. This is all.

Actually, the referents of the formula 1 they can be grateful. For the first time there is someone in the paddock who receives more requests for selfies than them. And Brad Pitt solves them with his fascinating skill.