Brad Pitt is set to “race” Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton in the British Grand Prix this summer as part of his latest blockbuster movie.
The actor, 59, has got special permission to complete the first parade lap at Silverstone in a risky move that places billions of dollars of cars on the line.
Seven-times world champion Lewis, 38, is executive producer, and wanted to ensure footage is as realistic as possible in the as-yet-untitled movie.
A movie insider told the British tabloid The Sun: “Watching Brad Pitt leading the field in the British Grand Prix will be an incredible and surreal moment for TV viewers and fans at Silverstone this July.”
Brad plays a veteran F1 driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a younger hotshot.
Lewis Hamilton: Spending time with Brad Pitt is pretty epic
The film is being made by Dawn Apollo Films, Lewis’s new production company. He will help with casting and says: “It’s a cool project . . . [and] spending good time with Brad is pretty epic.”
“I have such high hopes for it,” Hamilton said in October. “I know we’re going to make the best racing movie that’s ever existed, both visually, and we’re going to work on making sure we pull on the heartstrings of all those fans.”
The movie is set for release next year.
It will be directed by Joseph Kosinski, who was behind the recent blockbuster, “Top Gun: Maverick,” which is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced both “Top Gun” movies and the popular NASCAR hit, “Days of Thunder,” will do the same on this one.
Some of the technology used to make the “Top Gun” sequel will also be used in this F1 movie. “Top Gun: Maverick” writer Ehren Kruger will fill the same role in this film, although it sounds like he is already getting help from Pitt and Hamilton, Insider notes.
Hamilton is part of the cast, although it seems like any presence he has in front of the camera will be limited to the on-track action, along with other current F1 drivers.
“I don’t plan to be in it, no,” Hamilton told the media last year, adding later: “It’s going to take us drivers to be involved in [filming the on-track action]. But we’re not actors … We don’t want this movie to be crap, which is probably why I’m not going to be part of it also.”
Hamilton is helping with casting, and the first step was finding Pitt’s co-star.
Related: The Brad Pitt Lookalike Who Fought Heroically in the Battle of Crete
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