Brad Pitt reveals top speed after Lando Norris advice in McLaren F1 test
Ahead of the theatre release of F1 the movie, Brad Pitt got the chance to test McLaren Formula 1 machinery.
Pitt got behind the wheel of the 2023 McLaren MCL60 on Thursday at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin – home of the United States Grand Prix – with the Hollywood superstar revealing he hit a top speed of 197mph, delivering on Lando Norris’ advice not to “cock it up.”.
Brad Pitt hits 197mph in Lando Norris’ McLaren
25 June, 2025 is a very significant date in the Formula 1 calendar, as it marks the release of the F1 movie, which features Brad Pitt as the leading character ‘Sonny Hayes’, a driver who comes out of retirement for a blockbuster F1 return.
Filming took place within the real-life Formula 1 action, beginning at the 2023 British Grand Prix, with many stars of the sport appearing as themselves.
But this is Sonny Hayes’ story. As for Pitt, he got the chance to go bigger than the adapted F2 car used for the film, as he got behind the wheel of McLaren’s F1 2023 machine.
Pitt jumped onto BBC Radio 1 to discuss the experience, prompting to host Greg James: “Ask me if I hit 200mph.”
After James obliged, Pitt responded: “No… Three miles short.”
Nonetheless, 197mph in a Formula 1 car is not too shabby, and that was reflected in Pitt’s struggles to wind back down in the days that followed, while he also confirmed which McLaren F1 car he was behind the wheel of.
“It was Lando’s ’23 [car],” Pitt revealed. “I did not sleep for 36 hours afterwards. I was on such a high.”
As it turns out, Norris was not too optimistic for Pitt’s chances on Thursday, and the timesheet explained why.
“He didn’t have a lot of faith in me,” Pitt said in reference to Norris.
“Fair enough, like, the time I put up still wasn’t even close to his. No.”
But, Norris did give Pitt some very important advice for his McLaren F1 outing.
“Don’t cock it up!” Pitt confirmed. “Fair advice.”
McLaren appear well on the way to making it back-to-back Constructors’ Championship wins, having established a lead of 175 points over Mercedes after 10 rounds of the F1 2025 season.
