LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Brad Pitt is itching to

return to the racing tracks after making "F1", a movie that

takes audiences into the action of real Formula One races and

mixes in romance and humour.

Directed and co-written by "Top Gun: Maverick" filmmaker

Joseph Kosinski, "F1" was partly filmed during Formula One Grand

Prix weekends, with scenes shot on the circuits during breaks

and real drivers also appearing on screen.

Pitt plays an unruly racer-for-hire, who returns to Formula

One to help his friend's struggling team and mentor its rookie

driver, played by Damson Idris.

Pitt and Idris did their own driving in the movie, combining

top speeds with acting. The aim for authenticity made the

project physically testing for the two.

"It's real. You got to put in the neck exercises. And we're

not even pulling the G's that the real guys are doing," Pitt

said at the film's European premiere in London on Monday.

"I was in the gym a lot. It was cold plunges afterwards just

for recovery," Pitt, 61, said.

"It's insane," said Idris in an interview. "You're driving

up to 180 miles per hour sometimes. I have to say the lines at

this specific place and I have to emote in a way that's going to

translate through the eyes at those speeds. When you watch the

film, you feel you're driving as a viewer, and that was our

intention."

Getting the balance right for viewers with varying levels of

familiarity with the sport was also key, said Kosinski.

"If you're a diehard Formula One fan, you're going to find

some Easter eggs, you're going to recognise some historical

stuff that I think will be interesting. But we also designed the

movie so that if you know nothing about Formula One, if you have

no interest in motor sports whatsoever, this is just a great

story about second chances, teamwork and friendship," he said.

Monday's premiere came just days after Pitt got to drive a

Formula One car for real after testing a McLaren at Austin's

Circuit of the Americas. The cars used in the film were Formula

Two cars, modified to look like real grand prix racers.

"Ask me how fast I went. Three mph short of 200 mph," Pitt

said of the experience. "I want to go back. I want to hit 200."

"F1" begins its global cinematic rollout on June 25.