Ferrari film: Martin Brundle says new Michael Mann Sky Original 'captures true spirit' of Enzo Ferrari
Forget the classic Boxing Day walk, this year you've got somewhere better to be as the long-awaited Michael Mann film, Ferrari, is released in UK cinemas on December 26; for those who prefer to watch from the comfort of their own home, the film will be coming to Sky Cinema in 2024
Last Updated: 18/12/23 6:02pm
The new 'Ferrari' film will showcase the "true spirit" of Enzo Ferrari according to Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle.
The Sky original, released in cinemas on December 26 in the UK and Sky Cinema in 2024, follows Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari during the summer of 1957. Behind the spectacle and danger of Formula 1, ex-racer Enzo Ferrari is in crisis.
Bankruptcy stalks the company he and his wife, Laura, built from nothing 10 years earlier. Their volatile marriage is further fractured with grief for their only son.
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Ferrari struggles with the acknowledgement of another with Lina Lardi. His drivers' passion to win pushes them to the edge. All their fates converge in one race, the treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy, the iconic Mille Miglia
With a star-studded cast including Adam Driver playing Enzo Ferrari, we will see Penelope Cruz as Laura Ferrari, Shailene Woodley as Lina Lardi, Patrick Dempsey as Piero Taruffi, and Jack O'Connell as Peter Collins.
Multi award-winner Michael Mann serves as director and producer. Producers include PJ Van Sandwijk, John Lesher and John Friedberg.
"I really enjoyed the movie. There were those lovely lines from Enzo, 'I make cars to go racing, I don't race to sell more cars'," said Brundle on the latest Sky Sports F1 Podcast.
"Stuff like that, I think got the true spirit of Enzo Ferrari and just the scary nature of doing that race."
Schiff: Safety in motorsport has come a long way
The Mille Miglia was a 1000-mile road race, starting and ending in Brescia after driving down to Rome and back on public roads.
It began in 1927 but the final edition took place in 1957 when Ferrari driver Alfonso de Portago suffered a big crash when his front tyre exploded and he hit several spectators. Following the event, motor racing was banned on public roads in Italy.
"I am quite fortunate that when I was a driver in motorsport, safety has come a long way already," said Sky Sports F1's Naomi Schiff.
"I think that was one of the first things, when I saw the drivers getting out of the car when you see that first crash happening. For me, it made me think 'wow, how brave drivers had to really be to jump in those cars'.
"Incredible cars, but the safety wasn't where it is today. It takes some huge courage and bravery to get into cars like that."
Brundle able to 'relate to' previous danger in motorsport
In the 1950s, F1 drivers took part in other motorsport categories, so many entered the Mille Miglia which is now looked back on as one of the most dangerous events.
After the 1957 crash, the event was revived 20 years later as the Mille Miglia Storic with pre-1957 cars only allowed and more safety implementations in place.
In 2014, Brundle took part in the event alongside Bruno Senna in the iconic Long Nose' Jaguar D-type, which he looks fondly back on, nearly 10 years later.
"It really is a thousand miles through little villages and towns. Even when we did it in more modern times, the police are waving you on to go ever faster. It's extraordinary," explained Brundle.
"You couldn't do a race like that today. When Stirling Moss won it in 1955 it took just over 10 hours. I think in that era it was more accepted to die in a racing car. It came off the back of two World Wars and maybe some military mentality. It just seemed normal.
"There's a line in there that Adam Driver comes out with as Enzo Ferrari saying 'when I lost my first friend and driver. I had to build a wall from there on'.
"I can relate to that. A team boss I had Ken Tyrrell, had drivers killed in his cars even in the 1980s. The mentality was to treat drivers like light bubs. When one goes out, put another one in. And that comes through in the movie. That lasted for a few decades and we are in a different place altogether now."
Michael Mann's 'Ferrari' is out in UK cinemas on December 26 and Sky Cinema in 2024. Find out more on the new film on the latest Sky Sports F1 Podcast. Subscribe now on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Spreaker
