The race to F1 isn’t an easy one. In fact, many drivers with a lot of potential end up missing out on this opportunity of a lifetime simply because of how difficult it is to crack the code. Sponsorships, racing experience, junior series championships, money, and more importantly, super license points. One such star who lost out was Colton Herta, who had old wounds open because of Brad Pitt.
The Hollywood star has gotten a rather dangerous but thrilling opportunity to drive an actual F1 car during the British GP. While this had fans divided over how this could be executed, Herta had something to get off his chest.
Colton Herta responds to Brad Pitt driving an F1 car
While fans swarmed Twitter with their opinions on the news, Herta too chimed in. “Brad Pitt got a super license before me. Tough.”
The history here is problematic. A potential candidate for a seat with AlphaTauri; it would have been a massive career milestone for the IndyCar star. He has proved his prowess on the track time and again and was denied a license, regardless.
This incident shone a light on a major problem within F1. the sport is all about capitalizing on the growing American audience, thanks to the magic of Drive to Survive. As a result, we have the Miami GP and the Las Vegas GP adding to the glitz and glamor of F1 as they try to establish themselves amid the major American sports.
But drivers in motorsports outside F1 and its junior formulas get fewer license points for their achievements and efforts. As a result, Herta lost out on the opportunity of a lifetime, something Pitt will play out for his movie.
What is all the hubbub about?
Brad Pitt has been given the green light to be a part of an 11th team during the British GP. This will allow him to experience the real deal, in an actual F1 cockpit. During a panel discussion at Miami, all the juicy details were revealed.
The directors are “creating an 11th team filming on track and on event from Silverstone to the end of the year.” Thus, from July 9th onwards, Pitt will be a part of the F1 grid.
Surely it won’t be as simple as that, with a lot of restrictions to how far this bizarre game plan will go. As Domenicali had mentioned before, the film is “quite invasive in terms of production. It’s something that we need to control, in a way, but it will be another way of showing that Formula 1 never stops.”
How far will too far be? No one knows. But so far Lewis Hamilton and his filming crew seem to go all out to make this film as realistic as possible.
