Brad Pitt is putting his driving skills to the test in his upcoming Formula 1 biopic — and the real racers are noticing — according to producer Jerry Bruckheimer.
“It’ll be very exciting,” Bruckheimer, 80, told Entertainment Tonight of the new film on Saturday, November 18, while attending the Formula 1 Grand Prix with Pitt, 59, in Las Vegas. “We have Brad Pitt racing. We did some background filming and we’ll be back here next year.”
He gushed over Pitt’s skills behind the wheel, teasing, “He does it all himself. He’s an amazing athlete, the drivers are amazed at how good he is.”
The filmmaker explained that his team had to pause shooting the racing biopic due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) picketing concluded earlier this month after beginning in July. It followed the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike, which lasted from May to September, both of which fought against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) for better labor laws, wages and AI restrictions for its members.
With the strikes over, Bruckheimer revealed that his crew filmed a few things while in Las Vegas for the big event this past weekend. He also explained that the cast will “be in the cars after the first of the year” as they fully resume shooting.
Pitt, for his part, will begin filming in mid-December, according to Bruckheimer. “It’s all about the drama and the characters,” the producer added of the film’s premise. “It’s a great character study, the characters, drivers, the people around them who run those teams, the managers of the teams.”
The sports movie doesn’t have an official title, but Pitt was previously announced as playing the fictional racer Sonny Hayes. Sonny is a retired athlete who returns to F1 racing to help train up and comer Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris).
Ahead of production shutdowns this past summer, Pitt and Idris, 32, were spotted in white racing jumpsuits at the British Grand Prix in July. The twosome were seen shooting scenes for the project and chatting with real racers while in England.
In the months that followed, Pitt didn’t film any other projects, but he did keep himself busy by fostering his relationship with girlfriend Ines de Ramon.
The pair were first linked in November 2022 after being seen together at a Bono concert in Los Angeles. “Brad and Ines’ relationship is going really well,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly earlier this month, noting that one year into their romance the couple are “in love.”
Although the Oscar winner and de Ramon, 33, “aren’t jumping into [marriage] just yet,” the insider said they “are going the distance” and focused on the future.
