Adam Driver wasn’t allowed to drive a Ferrari in a film called Ferrari. It sounds funny written out like that, but it’s true. In the upcoming biopic, Ferrari, Driver portrays Enzo Ferrari while delving into the 1957 Mille Miglia tragedy, but just because he plays the man who created these magnificent cars, doesn’t mean he gets to drive them.
Don’t get too excited though because Driver explains that it isn’t drama with Ferrari that prevents him from stepping in the car, but insurance.
“They wouldn’t let me drive the cars for insurance reasons,” Driver explained. “They don’t trust me with small pieces of equipment. Big pieces of equipment like sandwiches they’ll let me handle.”
Driver wasn’t allowed to drive a Ferrari but his co-star, Patrick Dempsey, was thanks to his racing ability and licence which made insuring him far less complicated.
“The mindset of racing cars in pre-production with Ferraris, you become painfully aware, it’s the opposite of escapism, it’s absolutely focused on the mindset of what’s happening right now,” Driver said.
“The mindset was helpful in playing the character. It’s impulsive. It’s pre-psychology. He’s making decisions in a vacuum.”
Ferrari is being directed by Michael Mann (Heat, Last of the Mohicans) and is based on the 1991 biography, Enzo Ferrari: The Man and the Machine by Brock Yates with particular focus in the 1957 Mille Miglia tragedy that saw 12 people killed.
Alongside Driver and Dempsey, the film stars Penelope Cruz (Pirates of the Caribbean, Blow) as Enzo’s wife Laura, Shailene Woodley (The Fault in Our Stars) as Enzo’s mistress Lina Lardi.
The film premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and will see a wide release around Christmas.
