Will Buxton, one of the most instantly recognizable faces of F1, has written a new book about the history of the sport named ‘Grand Prix’ and is spending the break before the US GP promoting it on various platforms. In a recent appearance on ‘The Fast and the Curious’ podcast, he revealed how the publishing of the book got delayed by two days because of Brad Pitt.
When podcast co-host Greg James looked at the back cover of the book he found quotes written by celebrities. And that’s when the Brit explained that there are actually two different versions of the book — an American version and an English (British) version.
Buxton explained that in the American version, the back cover of the book has some words of praise for himself written by Brad Pitt. And Pitt got late in sending those compliments which ended up delaying the publishing for 48 hours. Here’s what Pitt has said about Buxton,
“Who needs Google when you have Will Buxton. The most comprehensive, all-encompassing book on F1 to date. A joy to peruse ― Brad Pitt”
It’s US publication week for my new book “Grand Prix – an illustrated history of Formula 1.” So excited for it to finally be available so here’s a quick sneak peek. pic.twitter.com/zHoiCiPK8d
— Will Buxton (@wbuxtonofficial) August 12, 2024
Buxton explained that it was the use of the word ‘peruse’ that caused the delay as he noted, “There was a PR team member [of Brad Pitt] and he was like, ‘I don’t like that’ [the word peruse] and we actually had to hold publishing for 48 hours because we were waiting on Brad’s final self-pen version.”
The English version of the book has some compliments for Buxton written by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay which reads,
“F1 is one of the greatest and most thrilling sports in the world and Will Buxton has been instrumental in bringing it to a new generation. This book takes you back in time, honoring the champions we grew up with who made the sport what it is today! — Gordon Ramsay”
As for Pitt, he has been keenly watching F1 and visiting the paddock for the filming of his upcoming movie on the sport. For the same, he has interacted and worked with several F1 personnel like Buxton, to add authenticity to his feature film.
Brad Pitt asked Martin Brundle to cameo in the upcoming ‘F1’ movie
Pitt’s upcoming movie based on F1 is releasing on June 27, 2025, with Lewis Hamilton co-producing it. To provide the most authentic experience in the movie, Pitt needed to research and learn as much about F1 as he could, and Buxton helped him a great deal in that process.
Interestingly, during the 2022 US Grand Prix, Pitt was present on the grid before the start of the race when Martin Brundle approached him during one of his famous grid walks for an interview only for the Hollywood star to avoid him.
However, during the British Grand Prix weekend in 2023, when Pitt was at Silverstone for filming, he learned about Brundle’s F1 career while giving him an interview and immediately offered him to cameo in the movie.
“We’ve got to get you a cameo!”
Brad Pitt reveals all about APXGP with Martin Brundle pic.twitter.com/DjokRTIuLt
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) July 9, 2023
“I would be a guy who raced in the 90s, in fact, I would have been on the track with you at some point,” Pitt told Brundle. “So you’ve got to do a cameo,” he added with Brundle immediately replying, “I’d love to,” as quoted by talksport.com.
