At 59, Brad Pitt Will Get Behind the Wheel at the British Grand Prix 2023

Benjamin Button, is that you? Nope, that’s Brad Pitt–who at, 59 years old, is going to race in the British Grand Prix 2023. 

The Hollywood star is reportedly set to drive a car beside the entire Formula One grid at the historic Silverstone Circuit. This marks the beginning of filming for the F1-themed feature that will see Pitt as a seasoned driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a younger driver for a last bid at victory.

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The actor is rumored to be joining the 20 F1 drivers during their formation lap before the actual race in Silverstone. He (or most likely a stuntman) will take turns driving a Formula 2 car heavily modified to resemble as close as possible the grandeur of an F1 car. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff, in an interview with Osterreich newspaper, disclosed how they helped build this car.

Ted Kravits of Sky Sports F1 has also reported that Pitt’s fictional team—called APXGP based on behind-the-scenes shots—will have its own garage built as they film throughout certain F1 and F2 sessions. The name of Pitt’s character, ‘Sonny Hayes’ can also be seen in the images. 

Pitt is currently in Europe preparing for the role, and if his latest look is anything to go by, the Hollywood veteran is more than up to do his own stunts. Without his signature blonde mop, the actor looks 20 years younger, as if he’s taking his old Benjamin Button role seriously. 

The Apple Studios project will be directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick). Kosinski will also produce the film alongside Dawn Apollo Film—the Film and TV company launched by seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton in 2022; Jerry Bruckheimer and Chad Oman of Jerry Bruckheimer Films; and Plan B Entertainment. 

The film boasts a powerhouse cast, too, including Snowfall’s breakout star Damson Idris, who will play Pitt’s teammate and protégé. Other actors in the film include Emmy winner Tobias Menzies (The Crown) and BAFTA winner Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin). And if that’s not enough name-dropping, Academy Award nominee Ehren Kruger (Top Gun: Maverick) will pen the screenplay.  

In an interview with Sun Sport, Formula One Group CEO Stefano Domenicali said the film is a maneuver that will hopefully help them pull in a new crowd to the pinnacle of motorsport. The sport has received a tremendous surge in popularity following Netflix’s Drive to Survive, a documentary series that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the drivers and the races. 

Domenicali says: “The technology too is beautiful and a project for us to develop together, it is because we believe it is another way to take F1 to people who do not know anything about us.” 

Seeing as film sets can be quite invasive, he then reassured that the project will not take the limelight away from the heart of good old-fashioned racing. 

The CEO adds: “The live coverage of the sport will stay pure, it will not be compromised, that's the first thing I said.”

Following the smash hit Top Gun sequel, the anticipation for this F1 film is surely off the rocket. If Kosinski can make adrenaline-spiking aerial dogfights happen onscreen, then a few of the world’s fastest cars going 250 miles per hour should be a walk in the park.