'Sonny Hayes' left sleepless after experiencing real F1 McLaren car

Brad Pitt, or as he is commonly referred to because of his role in the movie, Sonny Hayes, got behind the wheels of a 2023 McLaren car at the Circuit of the Americas, after being invited by Zak Brown.

In an interview with his teammate in the movie, Damson Idris (Joshua Pierce), Pitt reflected on getting behind the wheel of the car that was the first the papaya team could being competing for podiums more regularly two years ago.

When asked which actor is the faster, Idris reasons it would be Pitt because of his recent outing at the COTA track.

"I'm still on a high. I didn't sleep for 36 hours afterwards," Pitt said about the experience to Top Gear.

The Austin track is also Idris' favourite. Pitt added about the circuit: "it is a technical track, at least from my touristic view of it all."

This was the first time Pitt could drive an actual F1 car, but the actors explained they spent a lot more time behind the wheel of the modified F2 car as well.

"We got to drive for two years. I was told we put 6000 miles in the seat," Pitt continued.

What also stood out to the Academy Award-winning actor was the downforce: "It's nothing like... I try to find the right words to convey what it felt like and I fail every time. It's so sublime, and so specific, and so present."

The F1 movie premiered internationally on 25 June, with the US premiere set to follow on 27 June. Read our review of the movie here!