Is Formula 1 racing having a moment in TV and movies right now? Netflix just had the docu-series “Formula 1: Drive To Survive” hit the streamer earlier this year. As for upcoming projects, Brad Pitt just signed on for a movie set in the racing world with Apple, and Hulu has a series with driver Daniel Ricciardo in development. And who could forget Michael Mann‘s biopic “Ferrari” about the Italian automaker? Mann finally started shooting earlier the long-gestating film earlier this year.
But it appears Hollywood’s love for Enzo Ferrari’s story is too big for just one film, even one made by a director as prestigious as Mann. The Hollywood Reporter reports that AppleTV+ has a straight-to-series order for “Ferrari,” another project based on Ferrari’s life. The new series, inspired by Luca Dal Monte‘s best-selling biography “Ferrari Rex,” follows five of the most pivotal years in Ferrari’s career. And the show boasts some serious talent at the helm: “Peaky Blinders” creator Stephen Knight and “Without Remorse” director Stefano Sollima.
Here’s a logline for the series:
Five years. Five drivers. Five deaths. One trial. In the name of passion, in the pursuit of pure speed. At the center of it all a titanic man, complex and multifaceted, who dedicated his genius to the mission of building the fastest racing car in history. Enzo Ferrari: his name became a boast, an aspiration, and ultimately legend. But there was a trail of tragedy and torment along the way. Between 1956 and 1961, deeply wounded by the tragic death of his firstborn son Dino and by what he considered a betrayal by his lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio, Enzo Ferrari rebuilds his racing team from scratch, selecting five promising rising stars of motor racing to fight for victory.
Along with Knight and Sollima, the series has Italian producer Lorenzo Mieli and director Paolo Sorrentino backing the project. The pair most recently worked together on Sorrentino’s film “The Hand Of God.” “I am thrilled to be telling such an evocative story about this legendary man and his iconic brand,” Knight said in a statement. “Enzo Ferrari’s utterly extraordinary life was defined by his dramatic personal and professional journey, and “Ferrari” is a celebration of an incredibly complex and fascinating human being.”
The AppleTV+ series joins Mann’s upcoming film with Adam Driver, Penelope Cruz, and Shailene Woodley as the second big upcoming project about Ferrari. Mann’s forthcoming movie is a passion project that’s long been in development. Will Knight and Sollima’s “Ferrari” share a similar passion?
