Brad Pitt F1 debut sparks debate - which car would you drive?

F1 Movie star Brad Pitt drove a 2023 McLaren MCL60 at the Circuit of the Americas today, a story broken by RacingNews365.

And it got our team talking about which F1 car from the championship's history they would test drive if granted the one-off opportunity to do so.

Therefore, we put together a poll with the F1 cars we would select to drive if given the chance (see below) to be voted on.

Formula 1 is into its 76th season, so there were plenty of iconic cars to chose from and our five-person team remarkably chose cars from five different decades.

Ian Parkes chose the Lotus 79, F1's first ground-effect car. It powered Mario Andretti to the 1978 drivers' championship.

"For me, it is one of the most iconic cars of all time," said Parkes. "How can you not love that black and gold livery?

"Yes, there were two versions, the Lotus 78 that Mario Andretti drove for the first five races. It is the Lotus 79 that carried him to five additional wins, and, of course, that year's world title, only adding to its status, that makes it the must-have-car to drive."

Jumping past the 1980s, although absolutely no slight on that decade, Nick Golding opted for the Benetton B194.

"It's one of two for me, but I'll pick Michael Schumacher's 1994 Benetton – the car he drove to his first F1 drivers' title," Golding said. "A mostly easy decision given he's my idol, with my other choice having been his 2004 Ferrari – the car he drove to his final title.

"Of course, there was plenty of controversy to the car, given he received a two-race ban for overtaking Damon Hill after being black-flagged, there was then also, of course, Adelaide. Despite this, it is a car forever to be remembered in F1 history."

Staying with Schumacher and his championship-winning machinery is the Ferrari F2002. Samuel Coop chose this car in which the German matched Juan Manuel Fangio's then-record five F1 drivers' titles.

"Although shy of the McLaren MP4/4 from 1988s overall dominance, which won 15 of 16 grand prix and led 97.3% of laps that year, witnessing Schumacher win the 2002 title in July and before the summer break was nothing short of sensational," said Coop.

"I almost went for Alain Prost's Williams FW15C from 1993, the most technologically-advanced F1 car at the time, but Schumacher utterly crushed the opposition in the F2002, taking the crown with six rounds to run - a record in F1. And it is a beautiful car, as well."

Jake Nichol selected another of the German's championship-winning cars, with the 2013 Red Bull RB9. "I was torn between my heart of the Red Bull RB9 and my head of the Mercedes W11," Nichol said. 

"My favourite era of F1 was the 2009-2013 rules set, and for me, RB9 is the most iconic car from that era. Sebastian Vettel winning nine races on the trot, delivering the iconic 'I was racing, I was faster, I passed him, I won' retort to Mark Webber after multi-21, and him in Red Bull overalls just looks, and is, right."

Fortunately for Jake, Fergal Walsh chose the Mercedes W11 himself, so the car that Lewis Hamilton matched Schumacher's record seven drivers' crowns is not overlooked.

"It’s the fastest F1 car of all time," Walsh said. "It would be disastrous in my hands - but if I lived to tell the tale, it would be something immaculate to boast about."

It begs an interesting question: If you could choose any of those F1 cars to drive, which would you select?

Let us know by voting below in the latest poll by RacingNews365. Also, let us know which car would be your overall pick in the comments section!