Martin Brundle reveals verdict on Brad Pitt’s driving after McLaren F1 test

Martin Brundle was left impressed by Brad Pitt’s driving in his first experience of a real F1 car.

Hollywood actor Pitt underwent training to pilot a modified F2 car for his role as Sonny Hayes in F1 The Movie but the 61-year-old had never driven an actual F1 car.

That changed when he was given his first taste of F1 machinery behind the wheel of McLaren’s 2023 challenger in Austin during a private test day offered by CEO Zak Brown.

Former F1 driver turned pundit and commentator Brundle shared the outing with Pitt.

"He [Pitt] was good, he was solid out there. It's not easy to just jump in. There's a lot going on,” Brundle told Sky Sports F1.

"It was a magnificent experience, and I thought Brad was a lovely bloke who did a great job in there.

"I asked him if he fancied a bit of racing and he'd obviously thought about it, he was like, 'I'm not sure about the side-to-side, the wheel-to-wheel racing.’"

Brundle added: "He was impressive. It was my 73rd F1 car, it was his first, and he didn't crash it.

"There was a point when I was getting a briefing on how to start it up and which clutch paddle to pull and all that, and he just pulled up a chair and just sat and listened, because he just wanted to know more and more.

"It was one of the best days of my tv career, no it wasn't, it was the best!”

Brown was impressed by the feedback provided by 66-year-old Brundle.

"It was our pleasure. We knew you'd bring her back in one piece,” Brown told Brundle.

"Andrea and I were speaking about it the other day, and some of the feedback you gave us on driver mindset stuff was quite interesting and quite useful, so we got value out of it ourself as well.

"There's a reason why Martin got paid to go motor racing, but I would say that Brad did an awesome job, and he was very serious about it.

"I talked to him afterwards, he wanted to look at his data. I think Brad's a better actor than racing driver, but in all seriousness, he did a very good job.”

Brad Pitt 'hurt' to miss out on 200mph

Pitt clocked a top speed of 197mph on the back straight at COTA but was left gutted to be just shy of hitting 200mph.

“I got to hit 197mph this week. I really wanted to hit 200. You know, it hurts me a little bit – three miles per hour short on the straight,” Pitt told the Beyond The Grid podcast.

“I've just never experienced anything that's just, more feeling of presence in my life. You're so focused, but you're not white knuckling. You're just in this sublime groove. It is really extraordinary.

“I try to explain this feeling of downforce, and I fail every time because you try to say like a rollercoaster, but that's not even right, because you feel the fulcrum point underneath you – you're in it.

“I was in an aerobatic plane once, and it's the closest thing, but still this thing. This is such a unique feeling and an absolute high. I'm still on a high, I really am. I'm just still on a high.

“And I can't thank Zak Brown and the team [enough]. I spent the day out with Lando [Norris] – just what a high, what a high."