F1 drivers had the pleasure of welcoming Brad Pitt to their Friday drivers' briefing, a presence that turned the traditional meeting into the "best briefing ever" according to Lewis Hamilton.
With filming for the Hollywood epic that takes place in the world of F1 having started in earnest this weekend at Silverstone, Pitt and the film's director Joseph Kosinski took the opportunity to thank the drivers for their cooperation and for accepting the presence of the film's production crews.
While star struck by Pitt, the collective recognized the Hollywood super star as just a normal guy.
"I think it's one of those when you when you see a worldwide superstar for the first time, it's quite surreal," commented GPDA director George Russell, quoted by Motorsport.com.
"And then it's only when you get to be with those individuals whether it was Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or Roger Federer, whoever we've been fortunate enough to meet, you recognise they're just normal human beings.
"He was joking around and having a good time and just kind of one of the boys really. So excited to see what the movie does."
"It's fun, it's a new face and definitely quite unexpected to see Brad in the drivers' briefing," added Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.
"They did a bit of a brief of what to expect for the movie and it just is very exciting. I'm looking forward to seeing it. Nice guy."
Brad Pitt is suited and booted for his run on track 👀 pic.twitter.com/cxDZmwJoi4
— WTF1 (@wtf1official) July 9, 2023
Alpine's Pierre Gasly hailed the briefing as "a special moment" and insisted he had not noticed any inconvenience during weekend due to the presence of the productions' filming crews.
"I must say it's not every day you get the chance to see Brad Pitt," said Gasly. "We got the chance to meet him and they introduced themselves and the movie. It was definitely a special moment.
"Apart from the driver's briefing and be sitting right in front of Brad Pitt, everything kind of felt normal.
"So on my side, I will say it has changed zero. But I think on Sunday, the grid might look slightly different than usual. We'll see what happens."
Red Bull's Max Verstappen was a bit of the odd man out among his colleagues, admitting he wasn't "that much into it".
"I think they're going to use some shots of everybody, in terms of onboard cameras and stuff," said the Dutchman. "I completely can't be bothered with this.
"In the end, a film is always made to create a little bit of a show in it. Because yes, of course, it won't all be real. But I think it's all fine. I'm actually not that much into it."
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