With all of the hype associated with major cinematic releases, it would be difficult not to have heard of the upcoming Michael Mann film Ferrari.
Brock Yate’s book, Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, published in 1991, provides the basis of the storyline
As I understand it, the film narrative begins in 1957, a pivotal year for Enzo.
Pierre Taruffi, aka ‘the silver fox,’ won the Mille Miglia.
The team won the Formula One World Constructors’ Championship with its car, the Ferrari D50, driven by Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Musso.
But things started to go awry. Luigi Musso, one of Ferrari’s star drivers, died during the French Grand Prix in July 1958.
Alfonso de Portago, driving a Ferrari 335 S, crashed when a tyre burst at 150mph at the Mille Miglia, killing both himself and his navigator and nine spectators.
Also, his marriage was experiencing severe difficulties; his wife found out about his affair with Lina Lardi, with whom he had a ten-year affair and a son, Piero.
As to the film, if you are a Ferrari fan, this should portray a complex man with a relentless passion for his racing cars.
Unlike other manufacturers that use racing as a marketing tool for their road-going cars, Enzo used the profits from retail sales to fund his racing.
As to the non-driver Driver:
Adam Driver, who plays Enzo, said, ‘The Ferrari race cars were the scariest things on set, but they wouldn’t let me drive them for insurance reasons.’
