Norris secures a cinematic pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix.

Brad Pitt has done many things in life. He has been a detective (Seven), a soap salesman (Fight Club), a mythological general (Troy), and a compulsive romantic lead (all of them). Starting this week, he is also a Formula 1 driver. His new movie is called F1: The Movie, and it premiered on Friday with drum rolls, bright lights, and the tacit blessing of Liberty Media, the owner of a championship that has experienced a kind of Big Bang since its arrival. The project, which began nearly three years ago, features single-seaters, real circuits, and real drivers, alongside state-of-the-art cameras. All this aims to ensure that the resources of major Hollywood productions contribute to delivering a final thrill in terms of regularity. With the promotion carried out by all parties involved, few doubt that the first goal has already been achieved. What the critics say is another matter.

Apparently, the beginning can be traced back to a conversation between Lewis Hamilton and Apple producers. The British driver wanted to promote a film that didn’t show its seams. No screeching tires on grass or mistimed gear changes that make the eyes of even the mildly knowledgeable burn. Something serious or at least respectable enough to avoid hiding in the paddock. Hamilton has not only served as an advisor but also as a producer, and he helped with the script and in selecting Damson Idris as one of the main protagonists.

Pitt approached the role with the seriousness that actors usually apply when it comes to doing something both dangerous and glamorous. At 61 years old, he trained for months, filmed at Silverstone, Spa, and Hungaroring, and drove at speeds that surely made his representative uncomfortable on more than one occasion. Behind the wheel of an F2 prototype disguised as an F1, the Oklahoma-born actor mingled with the grid members in real situations. In the workshops, the looks from the team engineers often observed the scenes where Pitt appeared with a mix of professional indifference and morbid curiosity.

The story, like all redemption tales, has little mystery: the old lion returns, the pupil learns, and the team —fictional, by the way— battles for glory in the final laps. There’s drama, along with a kind of nostalgia built on the epic of risk. It’s predictable but also effective. The director, Joseph Kosinski, previously launched Tom Cruise into the stratosphere in Top Gun: Maverick. This time, his obsession has been to make the viewer understand how G-forces operate, even while seated in a chair. He placed cameras inside helmets, on the wings, and even in the hands of the mechanics.

The premiere took place a couple of weeks ago in New York, with most of the grid present —neither Max Verstappen nor Fernando Alonso attended—. “I think if I could have seen this movie during my childhood, it would have inspired me even more to try to become a driver. I believe it will show our sport in a different light. This film, like Drive to Survive —the Netflix series—, will bring F1 to many more people,” comments Hamilton, who has worked closely with Pitt.

“Both Brad and the entire team mixed with us at all times. I was impressed with how well they understood the dynamics of F1. They managed to integrate into the Grand Prix without causing disruptions,” asserts Lando Norris, who on Saturday, in Austria, secured a cinematic pole, his third of the season, with over half a second advantage. The Brit, who is still chasing Oscar Piastri, his teammate at McLaren for the title battle, will start at the Red Bull Ring (3:00 PM, Dazn), next to Charles Leclerc, while Piastri will start third. Verstappen will start seventh, Alonso eleventh, and Carlos Sainz penultimate. “For F1 fans, there will surely be elements too Hollywood-style. But the quality of the images they achieved is insane,” stated Sainz after attending a special screening. One of the most adept at leveraging the situation has been Zak Brown, director of McLaren. The marketing specialist offered Pitt the chance to drive the 2023 papaya car (MCL60) in a private test in Austin, from which he will extract as much value as he can.