Formula 1 races are often a who’s who of A-listers, influencers, and celebrities, particularly in the United States.

But one key star slipped under the radar at the Miami Grand Prix: Timothée Chalamet.

How Timothée Chalamet avoided detection in Miami

Anyone even slightly familiar with pop culture has inevitably heard of Timothée Chalamet in the last few years.

The 29-year-old actor has been a formidable force in the film world for the last decade. His first role in Interstellar back in 2014 gave him a strong foundation, while 2017’s duo of Call Me By Your Nam and Lady Bird marked him out as a star to watch.

Since then, his roles have only grown: He was King Henry V in The King, Laurie Laurence in Little Women, Paul Atreides in the Dune franchise, Willy Wonka in Wonka, and Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown.

So how did this mega-star avoid detection at the Miami Grand Prix?

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That was a topic of discussion on the post-Miami Sky F1 Podcast, with the formidable Ted Kravitz declaring his loser of the weekend to be “any photographer who failed to realize that the master of disguise, Timothée Chalamet, was actually not a VCARB Racing Bulls mechanic, but Timothée Chalamet!”

Kravitz continued, “He was in disguise. He walks into the paddock, and he’s dressed in a Toro Rosso shirt — not the pink one, but the usual racing shirt — and some blue trousers.

“And because, you know, he’s the Fremen, he’s Paul Atreides, he’s Willy Wonka, he’s Bob Dylan, he’s a master of disguise.

“No one can tell that he’s not actually a Racing Bulls mechanic, because he looked like a Racing Bulls mechanic or engineer, and all the photographers — so many of the photographers — missed him!

“And they were like, is Timothée Chalamet here? Because he didn’t sneakily appear on the official list of celebrities that gets passed around.

“Had he done, everyone would have been, ‘Oh my word, Timothée Chalamet is here!’

“So, sneaky by the Chalamet people, the people who put together the celebs!”

The VCARB crew kit was perhaps the big key for Chalamet to remain undetected, but his absence on the official celebrity list also meant no one was expecting to spot him on the grid!

For each race, Formula 1 compiles a list of the celebrities who will appear at the track. This allows photographers to know who to look out for, and to preemptively research anyone they may not be familiar with.

And if a name misses the list, well — it means plenty of folks can walk by someone like Chalamet without a second thought.

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