Ed Sheeran, Shaquille O'Neal, Brad Pitt lead stars at US Grand Prix

Ed Sheeran, Shaquille O’Neal, Serena Williams, Brad Pitt and Madison Beer lead the star names in Austin, Texas as THOUSANDS of adoring F1 fans descend on COTA for the United States Grand Prix

  • It was a sell-out at the Circuit of the Americas for the United States Grand Prix in Texas on Sunday afternoon
  • Stars were out in force, with Ed Sheeran, Shaquille O’Neal, Brad Pitt and Apple CEO Tim Cook among them 
  • Brooklyn Beckham, Serena Williams, Pharrell Williams and more were also set to be guests of various teams 
  • Click here for all your latest international Sports news from DailyMail.com 

The stars were out in force in Austin on Sunday as thousands of Formula One fans descended on the Circuit of the Americas for a high-octane United States Grand Prix.

Brad Pitt, Ed Sheeran, Serena Williams, Shaquille O’Neal and Apple CEO Tim Cook were all trackside for the F1 race, to watch the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen go toe-to-toe around the circuit.

It was a complete sell-out to the public, too, with a record 440,000 fans heading for the Austin circuit across the entire race weekend, as F1 fever continues to rise stateside.

Legendary Oscar-nominated actor Pitt was present across the entire weekend, and was pictured in the Mercedes garage on Sunday, where he greeted his good friend Hamilton alongside Apple CEO Cook.

Ed Sheeran (right) poses with Sergio Perez and Red Bull chief Christian Horner (left) in the paddock before the Grand Prix race


Fresh from her tennis retirement at the US Open, Serena Williams was a special guest at the United States Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton hugs Brad Pitt (center) as the 12 Years A Slave actor and Apple CEO Tim Cook (right) wait to meet him

Pitt has been at the United States Grand Prix all weekend, attending Friday practice, Saturday qualifying and the Sunday race

American singer Madison Beer (left) poses for a photo next to the Red Bull of Verstappen ahead of the race in Austin, Texas

Basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal pays a visit to the Williams garage ahead of the US Grand Prix in Austin, Texas

Sheeran also posed for photos with world champion Max Verstappen (right) and his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase

He was also on the track before the race, where he appeared less than enthused with Sky Sports presenter Martin Brundle’s attempts to interview him, brushing him off and instead continuing his journey towards the front of the grid.

That snub ensured he felt the wrath of F1 fans on social media, as the majority sided with the ever-popular Brundle and his weekly attempt to interview showbiz stars ahead of the race.

One man he did manage to speak to, meanwhile, was English popstar Sheeran, who was at the racetrack after performing for the Austin crowds after the qualifying session on Saturday.

‘It’s fun, innit,’ he said, ‘A new experience,’ before speaking about his show the previous night: ‘My first big show in America in five years, so I’m super excited to be back. I’m cheering for Red Bull now, as I’ve just met them.’ 

Claire Holt, Scott Eastwood, Chloe Grace Moretz, DJ Cassidy and Wyclef Jean (left-to-right) stand at the Williams garage

Apple CEO Cook walks through the paddock ahead of Sunday’s huge race at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas

British singer Sheeran (center, pictured with Christian and Geri Horner) performed for the Austin crowd on Saturday night

Hundreds of thousands of motorsport fans packed the grandstands at COTA across the weekend as F1 fever landed in Texas

Pitt waves to the crowd in Texas, but he appeared in no mood to speak to Sky Sports’ Martin Brundle on the grid

US film producer Jerry Bruckheimer (left), actor Pitt and film director Joseph Kosinski (right) ahead of the race in Austin

The Ipswich-born singer was pictured ahead of the race with Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez, as well as Red Bull chief Christian Horner and his wife Geri – formerly of the Spice Girls.

Tre Cool, the Green Day drummer, was also present on the track and joked: ‘We’re here to support the green team, Aston Martin… because they’re green!’ 

Serena Williams, fresh from her tennis retirement at the US Open, was also in Austin to take in the impressive scenes at the Circuit of the Americas.

DJ Cassidy appeared to delight in his appearance at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on Sunday afternoon

Selling Sunset reality TV star Mary Fitzgerald and her boyfriend Romain Bonnet stand in the Red Bull garage before the race

Canadian actor Will Arnett – famous for playing Gob Bluth in Arrested Development – was another of the big names present

Irish actress Eve Hewson, daughter of U2 legend Bono, poses alongside her brother John and the two AlphaTauri drivers

Mercedes star and seven-time world champion Hamilton waves to fans at COTA ahead of the race, which he started third

Posting to her Instagram ahead of the race, she filmed herself taking a ride in a golf cart, and also trying her hand at DJ’ing in the hospitality areas. 

In the race itself, Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz started at the front, with world champion Verstappen alongside him in second. Behind them, Mercedes pair Lewis Hamilton and George Russell made up third and fourth. 

It was a disastrous start for Sainz, though, who clashed with Russell on the very first corner of the race and was forced into an early retirement. 

Daniel Ricciardo – a self-confessed lover of America – made himself a fan favorite by wearing a Texas shirt ahead of the race

TikTok star Daniel Mac, who has over 10million followers on the platform, poses with Red Bull driver Sergio Perez on Sunday

Mick Schumacher, Haas driver and son of the legendary Michael, walks past the Texans cheerleaders ahead of the race

Ex-Formula One driver Jenson Button was also present at the track in a media capacity, working for British television






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