Zak Brown offers Brad Pitt second chance to hit 320km/h
Like his fictional big screen character Sonny Hayes, Pitt has been offered a second chance to don race overalls and lap at 320km/h.
McLaren F1 CEO Zak Brown told Reuters on Wednesday Pitt had a standing offer to 'come out and play' — and expected the 61-year-old not only to take him up on it but also take his passion for racing further.
Pitt drove a Formula One car for the first time with McLaren at Austin's Circuit of the Americas last month, after driving F2 cars disguised as F1 cars for the movie, and has been raving about the experience.
He did have one regret, however.
'Ask me how fast I went. Three m/h short of 200m/h (320km/h),' Pitt said at the New York premiere. 'I want to go back. I want to hit 200.'
Brown indicated it could be arranged.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles

TimesLIVE
8 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Fan favourite Norris on top in second British GP practice
Fan favourite Lando Norris lapped fastest in British Grand Prix practice on Friday as an army of McLaren Formula One fans, many of them cheering from a sold-out 'Landostand', got what they wanted to see. The Briton was top of the second session with a best effort of 1:25.816 seconds, with Ferrari's Charles Leclerc 0.222 slower and Lewis Hamilton 0.301 off the pace after going quickest in the first practice. McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri was fourth fastest with Red Bull's four-time champion Max Verstappen fifth and Mercedes Kimi Antonelli, who will have a three-place grid drop for Friday's race, sixth. Lance Stroll was seventh for Aston Martin with Mercedes' George Russell eighth. Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar was ninth and teammate Liam Lawson 10th. Hamilton, last year's race winner, had raised hopes of more home heroics with the fastest lap of 1:26.892 in first practice while 17-year-old Arvid Lindblad looked strong in his debut session for Red Bull. Hamilton is on a career-low run of 13 races without a podium finish but is a record nine-time home race winner and hoping to end the drought. The seven-time world champion is racing at home in Ferrari's red colours for the first time. The Italian team have yet to win this season, the only top-four outfit yet to do so. Hamilton had not led a practice session this year before Friday, though he was fastest in Chinese sprint qualifying. Norris, winner in Austria last weekend, was 0.023 slower in session one with Piastri third.


The Citizen
10 hours ago
- The Citizen
F1 film star hints at Black Panther role as racing film takes driver's seat in the box office
Damson Idris could be in line to play the role of T'Challa's son, Toussaint, on the upcoming Black Panther film. Damson Idirs has hinted at being part of the upcoming Black Panther film. Picture:F1 film star Damson Idris has hinted at being cast in the third instalment of Black Panther as F1 takes the driver's seat at the US Box Office. During a 'yes or no' question game on the US TV talk show Today, the host asks Idris if he has had any conversations about being cast as the next Black Panther. The actor excitedly moans and says 'yes, no'. The host says the answer will be taken as a 'yes' to the question. 'It could mean no,' Idris says with a smile. The 33-year-old British actor is one of Hollywood's young leading men, and being linked to prominent roles is a common occurrence. However, he seems to have all the attributes to be cast as T'Challa II or Toussaint, the son of Nakia (played by Lupita Nyong'o) and the late King T'Challa of Wakanda (portrayed by Chadwick Boseman). Toussaint is introduced in the final scene of 2022 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, when Nakia brings him to meet his aunt, Shuri (played by Letitia Wright). The third instalment of Black Panther is reportedly set for a 2028 release. Revered actor Denzel Washington, in an interview, confirmed that film director Ryan Coogler was writing him a part in the anticipated movie. ALSO READ: WATCH: Hot Wheels unveils die-cast F1 car for Brad Pitt's F1 movie F1 film leading the Box Office race The Apple Original Films F1 is reported to have opened to more than R2 Billion ($144 million) worldwide and just under R1 Billion ($55.6 million) in the US. 'F1 has inspired audiences around the globe with its underdog story and the perfect blend of high-octane racing and human-centred storytelling,' said the head of Worldwide Video, Zack Van Amburg, at Apple Original Films. The company is behind the creation of the film, and it partnered with Warner Bros. for distribution. 'The film's outstanding debut reflects both the excitement of Formula 1 and the deeply emotional and entertaining story crafted by the entire cast and creative team,' Van Amburg said. In the film, Damson plays the role of Joshua Pearce, an arrogant and talented young racer who is the leading driver of a struggling Formula 1 team. The team owner ropes in an old friend and veteran driver, Sonny Hayes, portrayed by Brad Pitt, to save the team. Throughout the film, there are generational and personal clashes between the two drivers, who initially think they are different but ultimately realise they are more similar than they initially thought. Speaking about the film, Damson said the film is full of heart. 'I think it's so relatable and could be equated to real life.' NOW READ: Ab etching: Buying a six-pack, also known as the 'male BBL'

TimesLIVE
12 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
The race problem behind the racy ‘F1' movie
Everybody loves a good sports movie, especially as streamers feed the insatiable hunger binge watchers have for documentaries. With the likes of David Beckham and Usain Bolt pulling back the veils from their misunderstood lives, the cinema of fast-paced flicks is slowly taking over. Coming into the fold is Joseph Kosinski's F1, which follows his winning trajectory of fast-paced dramas. Starring Brad Pitt, who plays the fictional Sonny Hayes, F1 follows a former American Formula One driver on the verge of a career comeback late in life. After a horrific crash earlier in his career, Sonny's life spiralled out of the limelight and into destructive behaviours and career changes. His former teammate Ruben Cervantes (played by Javier Bardem) pulls him from the chaotic world of NASCAR and back into Formula One racing in the hope of reviving fictional motor racing company Apex. Each cast member shines in what is a definitive movie that has pulled audiences back to the cinema, hitting $146m in its first week. While the movie successfully scores, directs and costumes Pitt into what could easily be an Oscar favourite, it runs into a snag with its supporting cast. Its most glaring issues can be seen with Apex GP's rising talent, Joshua Pearce, played by Snowfall star Damson Idris. With barely enough wins to save the company from a troubled reputation, the pressure is on Joshua to make the right moves on the track to secure a much-needed win. However, with Sonny looking to make a comeback, the story creates a conflict between the two, which makes for great tension. While Idris shines alongside Pitt, it does seem he may be miscast in this role — not due to a lack of talent, but because of issues left bare in the writing room. While Sonny is framed as a recluse loose cannon brimming at the helmet with talent, Joshua is framed as a template for a fame-obsessed rookie. However, with Idris being black and quite talented at showcasing the pain in Joshua's training, the storyline falls flat as a judgmental gaze at the pressures of success. The initial scenes on meeting Joshua showcase a number of these elements. He exposits about a former teammate who has been benched (in favour of Sonny) and racially discriminated against, with Apex GP's marketing team forcing Joshua to suck it up and fake it for the press. This is the same expectation thrust on Joshua when he meets Sonny, who makes an aloof entrance and does not co-operate with the Apex GP team. So much so that it costs him and Joshua multiple wins. Joshua confronts Sonny's insubordination but is met with little support from senior members of Apex GP, leading to a blow-up between him and Sonny, where cameras catch them in a heated exchange. Joshua reverts to his signature pose and a wide smile, playing nice for the camera and an impenitent Sonny who shames him for keeping a good face in light of the conflict. These moments go on to define Joshua's experiences, where there's very little understanding of the racial context to what he is experiencing. Joshua's experiences in F1 echo studies into black fatigue and code switching, which are efforts made by black people in workplaces where they have to work twice as hard as white counterparts to fit in to the professional environment. Joshua is the only other person of colour in the Apex GP team and with a lot of chatter from the corporate members around him looking to have him axed, it becomes increasingly difficult to trust his standing in his workplace. As a solution, Joshua and his manager cut outside deals through club appearances, brand-sponsored social media posts and an intense workout regimen that constantly gets contrasted with the detached world Sonny lives in. Rather than alleviate this pressure, we see Joshua struggle to secure his living due to not feeling as secure as Sonny or the benched colleague. This is also echoed in the many mistakes Sonny makes while Joshua is lambasted for one slip that the story continues to bring up until he accounts for it. As part of the flubbed attempt at making Joshua seem like an arrogant, fame-hungry member of the team, the movie constantly displays a dislike for technology. Whether it's Joshua's use of social media or the hi-tech training equipment he painstakingly uses to keep up with the high standards placed on him, the movie makes him the poster boy for a future that conflicts with a past it can't seem to fully define. In its poor attempt at stereotyping Joshua's character, it creates a supporting cast filled with uninteresting roleplayers who fall into tired tropes we've seen too many times before. It is especially glaring with Kerry Condon (Banshees of Inisherin), who is underutilised as a trope often mocked by TikTokers and today's leading ladies. A scientist whose place in the team is questioned based on gender and becomes defined by becoming the lead character's love interest. Rather than celebrating differences and allowing its main character to shine as an impulsive leader, F1 takes a wrong turn from a thrilling redemption story that's oversteered into a movie that longs for but can't quite give meaning to nostalgia.