Lando Norris revealed the piece of advice he gave to Brad Pitt before he drove a McLaren F1 car in Austin, Texas.
Brad Pitt has been a mainstay in the F1 paddock over the last year, filming his newly released movie “F1” alongside the drivers.
During the making of the film, Pitt drove a modified F2 car. However, he recently received the opportunity to drive a 2023 McLaren F1 car at the Circuit of the Americas as a promotional event for the release of his film.
Pitt spoke to McLaren driver Lando Norris prior to stepping into the car, and Norris has revealed the crucial piece of advice that he gave Pitt.
Lando Norris tells Brad Pitt to ‘give it some’ in the McLaren
The priority for many people in Austin that day would have been to keep Pitt safe. Don’t crash, bring it home and drive steadily, you can imagine him being told by his team on the day.
That wasn’t the advice given to him by Norris, however. Norris, one of the best drivers in F1, knows a thing or two about how to drive an F1 car, and gave him some important but unconventional advice for his drive.
“I said ‘I’d give it some’”, said Norris on the Beyond the Grid Podcast.
He continued, “When you’re uncomfortable, you have to give it a bit more. That’s a hard thing to do, because you’ve got to break through that barrier. In Formula One, you’ve got to get very used to not feeling right, because that’s normally when it is right.
“Especially on your first day, everything’s going to feel a bit uncomfortable. The more used to being uncomfortable you are, the better you’ll be.”
Pitt didn’t leave anything on the table. McLaren boss Zak Brown was aligned with Norris, setting Pitt a target of 200 mph. While he clocked 197 mph on the day, Norris was complimentary of the Hollywood superstar’s driving.
He said, “[The engineers] were impressed. I don’t think people realise what it takes to step into a Formula One car.
“Especially because it was a very warm day in Texas, he did a very good job. I’ve seen some of the data, some of the overlays, and for the first time in a Formula One, he did well.”
Pitt leaned on the British driver’s expertise before the drive to maximise his performance on the day, something Norris appreciated.
“He definitely wanted to understand things, like what I felt in different places, what gears I was using, things like that. What makes you want to use different gears, and what’s the feeling?
“He was definitely asking a good amount of questions, which is cool. It’s not like he was like ‘I just wanna go out and drive, and just do it’. I think he wants to do well and wants to drive fast.”
Lando Norris looks to mount pressure in title fight with Oscar Piastri at his home Grand Prix
Silverstone is next on the Formula One calendar for Norris, a home Grand Prix for one of this season’s title contenders.
His dramatic win in Austria narrowed the gap between him and his teammate, Oscar Piastri. 15 points is the gap at the top of the table, which is narrow enough for the season to flip on its head in a single race.
| Position | Drivers' Championship | Points |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | 216 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 201 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 155 |
| 4 | George Russell | 146 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 119 |
Austria was a much-needed bounce-back for Norris, after he crashed into Piastri in Canada and put himself into the wall. Piastri has been consistent all season, meaning the Brit has to be exceptional on the day in order to continue to close the gap.
Silverstone has been a place of choice for Norris over recent years. He’s still seeking a first home win despite leading in the last two races.
Norris snatched the lead from Max Verstappen on lap one in 2023 but had an inferior car to the four-time champion, and he looked good for a comfortable win last year but lost out on strategy to Lewis Hamilton.
This year, he hopes to get over the hump and become the 11th home driver to win at the home of British motorsport.