Norris takes a spectacular pole position at the Austrian GP

Brad Pitt has done many things in life. He's been a detective ( Seven ), a soap salesman ( Fight Club ), a mythological general ( Troy ), and a compulsive heartthrob (all of them). As of this week, he's also a Formula 1 driver. His new film is called F1: The Movie , and it premiered on Friday to a drumroll, bright lights, and the tacit blessing of Liberty Media, owner of a championship that has been experiencing a kind of Big Bang since its arrival . The project, which began almost three years ago, features real cars, circuits, and drivers, as well as state-of-the-art cameras. All of this is intended to leverage the resources of the big Hollywood blockbusters to achieve the ultimate success in terms of consistency. With the promotion carried out by all parties involved, few doubt that the first objective has already been achieved. What the critics say is another matter.

Apparently, the beginning can be traced back to a conversation between Lewis Hamilton and the producers at Apple. The Briton wanted to promote a film that showed no flaws. No tires squealing on the grass or ill-timed gear changes, the kind that make the eyes of even the most knowledgeable sting. Something serious, or at least dignified enough to avoid having to hide in the paddock . Hamilton not only served as an advisor but also as a producer, in addition to participating in the script and contributing to the casting of Damson Idris as one of the main characters.

Pitt took on the role with the rigor that actors typically apply when it comes to something simultaneously dangerous and glamorous. At 61, he trained for months, drove at Silverstone, Spa, and the Hungaroring, and drove at speeds that surely made his agent uncomfortable on more than one occasion. At the wheel of an F2 prototype disguised as an F1 car, the actor from Oklahoma mingled with the members of the grid in real-life situations. In the workshops, the team technicians often watched the scenes Pitt snuck into with their usual mix of professional indifference and morbid curiosity.

The story, like all redemption stories, has little mystery : the old lion returns, the pupil learns, and the team—fictional, by the way—plays for glory in the final laps. There's drama, as well as a kind of nostalgia built on the epic risk. It's predictable, but also effective. Director Joseph Kosinski already made Tom Cruise take off in Top Gun: Maverick . His obsession, this time, has been for the viewer to understand how G-forces work, despite being slumped in a seat. To achieve this, he's placed cameras inside helmets, in the ailerons, and even in the hands of the mechanics.

The preview took place a couple of weeks ago in New York, with most of the grid present—Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso were absent. “I think if I had been able to see this film when I was a kid, it probably would have inspired me even more to try and become a racing driver. I think it will show our sport in a different way. This film, like Drive to Survive (the Netflix series), will bring F1 to a much wider audience,” says Hamilton, who has worked closely with Pitt.

“Both Brad and the entire team blended in with us at all times. And I was impressed by how well they understood the dynamics of F1. They managed to integrate into the Grands Prix without getting in the way,” agrees Lando Norris, who this Saturday in Austria took a cinematic pole position , his third of the season and the clearest, with more than half a second in his favor. The Briton, who continues to chase Oscar Piastri , his McLaren teammate, in the title fight, will start at the Red Bull Ring (3:00 PM, DAZN), alongside Charles Leclerc, with Piastri in third. Verstappen will start seventh; Alonso in eleventh; and Carlos Sainz in second-to-last. “For F1 fans, there will probably be some things too Hollywood-style. But the quality of the images they've captured is insane,” declared Sainz after attending a special screening. One of the most adept at capitalizing on the hype has been Zak Brown, McLaren's director. The marketing executive offered Pitt the chance to drive the 2023 Papaya racer (MCL60) in a private test in Austin, from which he will make the most of it.