“I want you to watch this film to learn about all the things you didn’t know he’d been involved in. This isn’t some biopic crammed with facts, it’s a love letter to a man both Manish and I feel utterly privileged to have spent time with.
“Like anyone overburdened with charisma and skills, he’s complicated and inspiring. He doesn’t suffer fools and he’s very clear on what he thinks is right and wrong.”
Montezemolo first came to prominence in 1973 as the team manager of Scuderia Ferrari, his hiring of Niki Lauda eventually winning the 1975 F1 title – its first in 11 years.
The Italian quickly moved on to other areas of Ferrari-owner Fiat’s empire, but returned in 1991 as CEO to help a company that was ailing both on and off-track.
It eventually culminated in an unprecedented run of success with Michael Schumacher, the team scoring five championship doubles from 2000 to 2004.
Montezemolo left Ferrari in 2014 in the wake of tension between himself and Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne, but his transformational effect on Ferrari in taking it from a spent racing force in the early ’90s to a modern-day sporting powerhouse is still felt today.
Film is an intimate portrait of one of Italy’s most powerful men
Harris is also witness to the deft personal touch of someone who revels in sale-rail finds as much as he does wielding power through the world’s boardrooms.
“You can find real bargains here, and then you can negotiate the price further when you pay!” exclaims Montezemolo, as Harris describes him affably haggling with a shop owner, before he goes home to tend to his pet donkeys and other animals.
“Combine both scenes and you have the essence of the most interesting man I’ve met in my professional life,” says Harris.
Luca: Seeing Red is in post-production and will be in cinemas later this year.
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Chris Harris meets Luca Montezemolo: telling the extraordinary life story of Ferrari’s rockstar boss• Former Top Gear presenter describes what it’s like to spend time making a film with the man who changed the course of the Scuderia’s F1 history Read the exclusive feature in the latest issue of Motor Sport |
