Heading to the circuit

Cut to track, and Brad is as ready as he’ll ever be, light-heartedly recounting that he got six straight hours’ sleep, before revealing that he spent the following two hours waking up at regular intervals, reminiscent of a child at Christmas, asking himself, “Is it time yet? Is it time?”

He spends the first half of the day exploring the track and taking in his surroundings as Lando and Martin Brundle show him how it’s done first, undertaking their own tests in the MCL60.

“You’re here to have fun, just pure fun,” Martin reminds him, while Lando attempts to give him some pointers. For a moment, having seen Brad appear in the film trailers, you forget he’s an actor and not an actual driver – the conversation, at times, feels extraordinarily reminiscent of two drivers discussing a lap, rather than a F1 world champion and a novice.

Brad immersed himself in the world of Formula 1 in preparation for his role in the film, watching hours of footage, while training with professional drivers and driving modified F2 cars. He was also given unprecedented access to the sport. He took part in actual Grand Prix weekends during the two-year filming process, describing the experience as “one of the most extraordinary” of his career.

The preparation gave him a solid grounding for the test while allowing him to mix comfortably with drivers like Lando in real-life scenarios.

“You’re never in second [gear]?” Brad asks.

“Rarely,” Lando replies. “You could do Turn 1 in second, because it is pretty bumpy. You’ll feel it. The car is bouncing around, so you can do second, but you are shifting out of second before you even get to full throttle.

“He was late on the throttle,” Lando then points out as Martin screeches past them.

“Is that what you heard? I love that knowledge,” Brad replies, before detailing the circuits he enjoyed the most during the filming process. “I loved Abu Dhabi, I think, just because we spent so much time there. Hungary was fun and scrappy. Spa, too.”

Taken back to his first time in a Formula 1 car, Lando replies: “Hungary was my first test I did in Formula 1. It is fast there, high downforce.”