Ford v Ferrari

The historic race “Ford v Ferrari” is an American sports drama film released in 2019, directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Jason Keller. The film stars Matt Damon and Christian Bale as the two main characters and a supporting cast including Jon Bernthal, Caitriona Balfe, Tracy Letts, Josh Lucas, Noah Jupe, Remo Girone and Ray McKinnon. .

Ford v Ferrari Plot Summary

In 1963, vice president of Ford Motor Company, Lee lacocca, proposed to Henry Ford II to buy Ferrari and participate in the “Le Mans 24 Hours” race as a way to promote car sales. However, Enzo Ferrari used Ford’s offer to secure a more lucrative deal with Fiat, allowing him to retain full ownership of Ferrari. By refusing to agree with Ford, Ferrari also intentionally insulted both Ford Motor and Henry Ford II. In response, Ford angrily ordered his vehicle manufacturing division to build a racing car that could beat Ferrari at Le Mans. To carry out this task, Iacocca hired the owner of the American Shelby Company, Carroll Shelby, who won Le Mans in 1959 but was forced to retire due to heart disease. Shelby immediately sought the help of Ken Miles, a hot-tempered British racing driver and struggling mechanic.

Shelby and Miles built and tested the Ford GT40 Mk I at Los Angeles International Airport, ironing out all of its design flaws until the car was ready for racing. Thinking that Miles was not the ideal driver, Ford decided to send Phil Hill and Bruce McLaren to the 1965 Le Mans 24-hour race. As Miles predicted, no Ford driver finished first. While Ford considered this a humiliating defeat, Shelby explained to him that the GT40 had scared Enzo Ferrari when it reached 350.8 km/h on the Mulsanne Straight before breaking down. Shelby and Miles continued to develop the GT40 Mk II, Miles was nearly killed when he suddenly braked the car during testing. In 1966, Ford Senior Vice President Leo Beebe took over the racing division with the intention of continuing the program without Miles. Despite everything, Shelby convinced Ford and bet his company to agree that if Miles won the “Daytona 24 Hours”, he would be allowed to race at Le Mans.

The Shelby American team participated in the “Daytona 24 Hours” but Beebe sent another driver with a GT40 to join the NASCAR Holman-Moody team to stop Miles. While the Holman-Moody team pitted, Shelby asked Miles to push his car’s speed limit to 7,000 RPM and then Miles emerged as the winner.

At the 1966 “Le Mans 24 Hours”, Miles struggled with a faulty door on the first lap but after team engineer Phil Remington fixed it with a hammer, Miles set out to set lap records. when catching up with Ferrari. While racing with Ferrari driver Lorenzo Bandini – testing Ferrari’s new 330 P3 prototype – Miles suffered a brake failure and had the brake system replaced during a pit stop. Enzo Ferrari opposed the move, but Shelby convinced race officials that the substitution was legal. Miles and Bandini again dueled on the Mulsanne Straight until Bandini blew his engine, eliminating the Ferrari from the race. With three Ford teams in the top position, Beebe ordered Shelby to ask Miles to slow down so the other two Fords could catch him and provide the press with a three-car finish photo. Miles initially protested the decision, going on to set a new lap record near the end of the race, but decided to let Ford have a way into the final lap. In the end, McLaren was declared the technical winner, but Miles was grateful to Shelby for giving him the opportunity to race at Le Mans.

Two months after the Le Mans race, while testing the J-car at Riverside International Raceway, Miles again had brake problems and was killed in the accident. Six months later, Shelby visited Miles’ widow Mollie and son Peter and gave Peter a wrench that Miles had thrown at him before winning the SCCA race at Willow Springs in 1963.

Ford continued his winning streak at Le Mans in 1967, 1968 and 1969. Miles was inducted into the American Racing Hall of Fame in 2001.

Ford v Ferrari Cast