11 March 2026 17:00 (UTC)
Sim sessions, seat fits, and engineering briefings: How Brad Pitt prepared to drive the MCL60
Read time: 6 minutes
In what could be a scene straight out of the movie, Lando and Brad Pitt, perched on a balcony overlooking the main straight of the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, watching a McLaren Formula 1 car pound around the track, are discussing racing lines and braking zones.
That is, until Brad breaks character. “When you say that, I just hear: ‘do your best,” he says, the pair laughing.
Lando and Brad are here as part of McLaren’s TPC (Testing of Previous Cars) programme, but this is no ordinary private test of the MCL60. These usually take place in Europe and are attended by our dedicated TPC team and a combination of McLaren drivers from our Development, simulator, and race programmes.
For a start, there’s nothing private about it. We’re accompanied by Sky Sports and F1, here to capture every moment of this unique test… In celebration of the global release of F1® The Movie, CEO Zak Brown has invited Brad Pitt to drive a Formula 1 car for real, offering his compatriot a test in our 2023 challenger, the MCL60.
We went along for the ride, documenting the Oscar-winning actor’s journey from the simulator in the McLaren Technology Centre to the MCL60 in Austin.
Having filmed various scenes for F1® The Movie at the McLaren factory, Brad was already familiar with the McLaren Technology Centre, though he’d not experienced it at its busiest during the week, but rather on weekends when it’s much quieter.
To prepare for the test, Brad visited our Formula 1 facility in Woking on a day when it was fully operational. There, he met the team he’d be working with and underwent a seat fit in the MCL60.
“It just looks so mean, doesn’t it?” he smiles, seeing the car in person for the first time. Standing to the right of the MCL60, he asks whether he can get in from the left, “I am superstitious that way, I really am.”
Leaving nothing up to chance while clambering into the car, Brad asks an abundance of questions to ensure he doesn’t put a foot out of place. Currently set up for Martin Brundle, he is pleasantly surprised at how little needs to change and how comfortable he feels.
“This is pretty damn close,” he says. “A little more shoulder, a little more leg room, and I am good. It actually feels really good.” On the position of the pedals, he adds: “If I could get them a little further away?
“I’ve got to tell Martin we’re pretty close!”
As part of the filming for F1® The Movie, Brad drove modified Formula 2 cars, so he’s no stranger to a single-seater. But this is another prospect entirely, and the American pauses for a moment before he climbs back out of the MCL60.
“I get a few perks with my job, but this is the high, this is the all-time favourite.”
The aim was to give Brad an authentic experience of a Formula 1 test and everything involved in the process, rather than just putting a star in a car and letting them have some fun.
He was fully integrated into the team, who were there to guide him through the steps. While at the McLaren factory, Brad underwent detailed engineering briefings and an intensive simulator session to ensure he was fully prepared.
“Everything today is exactly as it would be for Lando and Oscar,” he’s told. “We are running the same car model, and all the motion is exactly as they would have. We wanted to give you the full experience.”
Following this, he’s given in-depth instructions for the McLaren steering wheel he’ll be using, including an explanation of how to operate the car’s Energy Recovery System (ERS). It’s a unique insight into how much Lando and Oscar have to think about while driving the car.
“The battery goes down through the lap, so we’ll need to charge the battery back up,” he’s told. “To charge that back up, we need to do a slow lap, which you’ll have to do in Austin, and we’ll practice that today in the simulator.”
No part of the experience has been spared – the aim is for him to prepare for and complete this test exactly as Lando or Oscar would.
After another briefing, he’s led into our next-gen simulator for the first time. Visibly in awe as he takes in the state-of-the-art facility and kit, he pulls on his helmet, climbs in, and is given the go-ahead to get started.
“Oh man, wow,” he says. “This feels so strange. Bear with me, it is going to take me a minute.”
Cut to track, and Brad is as ready as he’ll ever be, light-heartedly recounting that he got six straight hours’ sleep, before revealing that he spent the following two hours waking up at regular intervals, reminiscent of a child at Christmas, asking himself, “Is it time yet? Is it time?”
He spends the first half of the day exploring the track and taking in his surroundings as Lando and Martin Brundle show him how it’s done first, undertaking their own tests in the MCL60.
“You’re here to have fun, just pure fun,” Martin reminds him, while Lando attempts to give him some pointers. For a moment, having seen Brad appear in the film trailers, you forget he’s an actor and not an actual driver – the conversation, at times, feels extraordinarily reminiscent of two drivers discussing a lap, rather than a F1 world champion and a novice.
Brad immersed himself in the world of Formula 1 in preparation for his role in the film, watching hours of footage, while training with professional drivers and driving modified F2 cars. He was also given unprecedented access to the sport. He took part in actual Grand Prix weekends during the two-year filming process, describing the experience as “one of the most extraordinary” of his career.
The preparation gave him a solid grounding for the test while allowing him to mix comfortably with drivers like Lando in real-life scenarios.
“You’re never in second [gear]?” Brad asks.
“Rarely,” Lando replies. “You could do Turn 1 in second, because it is pretty bumpy. You’ll feel it. The car is bouncing around, so you can do second, but you are shifting out of second before you even get to full throttle.
“He was late on the throttle,” Lando then points out as Martin screeches past them.
“Is that what you heard? I love that knowledge,” Brad replies, before detailing the circuits he enjoyed the most during the filming process. “I loved Abu Dhabi, I think, just because we spent so much time there. Hungary was fun and scrappy. Spa, too.”
Taken back to his first time in a Formula 1 car, Lando replies: “Hungary was my first test I did in Formula 1. It is fast there, high downforce.”
The engineering and comms teams give Brad another briefing, before showing him how to properly wear a balaclava so that the team can hear him - it’s genuinely not as simple as it looks.
“For some reason, Zak Brown and everyone at McLaren has allowed me to get into the 2023 McLaren F1 car, so here we are,” Brad says to the camera, before getting into the car. “[I am] off my head giddy and a little bit intimidated - trying to put that into its proper place – I just need to get in and get going now.”
From here, the situation becomes increasingly real, as Brad suits up, pulls on his balaclava, and grabs his helmet.
The next few minutes, you imagine, were among the most surreal of an already remarkable life, as he pulls out of the McLaren garage in our 2023 car and heads out onto the circuit, where he’s coached through the lap by our engineers.
After hitting a top speed of 197mph, he returns to the garage where he kicks himself, tongue-in-cheek, for being “three miles short, just shy of three miles,” of 200mph, prompting a burst of laughter from the team, before he adds more seriously: “What a rush, a lot bigger horse than I’ve been on.”
“Unforgettable, a high of a lifetime,” he says to the cameras. “A big thanks to Zak Brown, everyone at McLaren, the team, everyone back at headquarters, and everyone here who got me into the seat. Wow, wow. What an experience, really. One thing to Zak: “Work on your acting, bud, and we’ll talk.”
