How close were we to seeing Ford v Ferrari starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt instead of Matt Damon and Christian Bale? According to Pitt, wheels were in motion In an interview with The National, about a decade before Ford v Ferrari was made,

Don't show up late if you want to see Daytona and the Rolex 24 star in Brad Pitt's F1 movie. The opening 10 minutes feature Daytona and New Smyrna.

Javier Bardem, who plays Ruben Cervantes, points out Idris and Pitt likely felt more pressure filming during the live races in front of hundreds of thousands of people. But he says the crew’s “work” wasn’t lost on him.