IndyCar star Colton Herta posted one of the tweets of the year on Thursday, following the news that Hollywood actor Brad Pitt would be driving a Formula 1 car at the British Grand Prix, sort of.
Herta is, of course, IndyCar’s youngest ever race winner and was massively linked to a move to Formula 1 for 2023, only to be denied a super license.
The FIA’s super license system has been heavily criticised over recent years, with IndyCar drivers arguably not receiving the points they deserve, given the competitiveness and difficulty of the championship.
Based on the FIA’s current system, Formula 2 is the most rewarding series in regard to super license points in order to pursue a move to Formula 1, with the F2 Champion receiving 40 points.
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To be eligible to race at the pinnacle of motorsport, a driver must have 40 points on their license, something a F2 driver would have technically should they win the junior series.
The IndyCar Champion does also receive 40 points; however, the runner-up only receives 30, whereas in F2 the entire top three in the championship receive 40 points.
For most IndyCar drivers it then becomes understandably difficult to acclaim 40 points over three seasons, to make the switch to F1.
Despite this, Red Bull urged the governing body last season to grant Herta a super license, so that he could be signed to replace Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri.
Ultimately, the FIA rejected Red Bull’s approach, meaning that Herta had to remain across the pond.
The Andretti driver has seen the funny side of the situation, though, with him having joked that Pitt was granted a license before him.
“Brad Pitt got a super license before me. Tough,” Herta comically on Twitter.
As part of an upcoming F1-based film that he’s working on, Pitt will be driving a modified F2 car to complete further filming, during the British GP.
No other cars will be on track whilst Pitt is; however, filming will be taking place in and around the paddock at Silverstone.
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F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali can’t wait for the film to hit the big screens, with the Italian believing that the movie will prove once again that “F1 never stops”.
“We are going to start shooting very soon, and you will see it will be the first movie when basically, they will be within the racing event,” Domenicali said, as reported by news.com.au.
“It’s something that we need to control in a way, but it will be another way of showing that F1 never stops.”