If you’re just an F1 fan of the past few years then you might think that Ferrari is somewhat of a laughing stock, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The Italian powerhouse has been leading the way in motorsport for decades, so much so that in the 1960s, Ford decided to design a car to specifically take on Ferrari’s dominance in the prestigious 24 hours of Le Mans.

In 2019 we were treated to a dramatic retelling of one of motorsport’s greatest rivalries with Ford v Ferrari, a superb movie that’s arriving on Netflix this month, March 15th to be exact. Sporting a 98% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a Best Picture Oscar nomination and two A-List leads in Matt Damon and Christian Bale, even if you’re not into cars it is essential viewing.

Like all great rivalries, this is a story born from ego. After failing to purchase Ferrari (it instead was sold to Fiat), Henry Ford II resolved to upset the Applecart and end the company’s Le Mans dominance. To do so, he hired former race driver and designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) to create a car that would change the game. In turn, Shelby recruited brash British driver Ken Miles (Christian Bale doing some excellent accent work) to fight on the track.

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If you’re disenchanted by the likes of The Fast and The Furious I don’t blame you, this is a real racing movie about real racers. But that’s not to say that the races aren’t spectacular, tense and dangerous. Director James Mangold does a superb job of keeping us in the action and it’s fair to say that safety wasn’t like it is nowadays and drivers at Le Mans in particular were risking it all every lap.

If this is right up your alley, you should also check out the Gran Turismo movie. This adaptation of the renowned racing game series is also on Netflix (in the US anyway, UK viewers will have to rent it) and was one of our favourite movies of 2023.