Hollywood star Brad Pitt has carried out a private Formula 1 test with McLaren just days ahead of the release of the new F1 movie, it has emerged.

The highly anticipated F1 film will be released next week, with Pitt starring in the role of main protagonist Sonny Hayes, a veteran racing driver staging a thrilling Formula 1 comeback.

Brad Pitt tests McLaren at COTA ahead of F1 movie release

The movie is expected to build on the success of the hit Netflix docuseries Drive To Survive by attracting millions of new fans to the sport.

Pitt has been a regular face in the paddock over the last few years with filming taking place on real-life F1 race weekends, with the 61-year-old at the wheel of a modified Formula 2 car in the movie.

And it has emerged that Pitt received a taste of real Formula 1 machinery on Thursday by carrying out a private test with reigning Constructors’ champions McLaren at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, the home of F1’s United States Grand Prix.

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McLaren hinted at Pitt’s test on social media on Thursday, posting an image of a set of driver overalls carrying Pitt’s initials.

The accompanying caption read: “It’s a Sonny day in Austin.”

Pitt is understood to have taken to the track at the United States Grand Prix venue behind the wheel of a McLaren MCL60, the team’s 2023 car.

McLaren are thought to have stayed in North America following last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix to hold a TPC [Testing of Previous Car] test in Texas.

Alex Dunne, the McLaren-backed F2 driver, is believed to have taken to the track on Tuesday before handing over to regular driver Lando Norris on Wednesday.

After attending the global premier of the F1 movie on Monday, Pitt was trackside at the Circuit of The Americas on Wednesday to witness Norris put the MCL60 through its paces before getting a chance to drive the car himself on Thursday.

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After winning their first Constructor’s title in 26 years last season, McLaren have made an impressive start to the F1 2025 campaign by winning seven of the opening 10 races.

The team currently hold a 175-point lead in the Constructors’ standings with Norris’s team-mate Oscar Piastri holding a 22-point advantage in the Drivers’ Championship.

McLaren remain without a Drivers’ title since Lewis Hamilton’s maiden triumph in 2008.

Hamilton, now with Ferrari, has played an instrumental role in the F1 movie as a producer.

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