LONDON (Reuters) – Manish Pandey, who scripted the award-winning motor racing film “Senna”, is making an eight-part documentary series about the life of former Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone and his transformation of the sport.
The series will be titled “Lucky!” and has been given exclusive rights by British billionaire Ecclestone, who was replaced by Formula One’s U.S.-based owners Liberty Media in 2017 and is now 90.
It will also use extensive archive footage provided by Formula One.
“Bernie has been able to reflect, not just on his days as one of the greatest sporting impresarios of all time, but also on his life,” said Pandey, who will write and direct, in a statement.
No release date was given.
Ecclestone, whose involvement in Formula One dates from the 1950s, said it was the first time he had trusted anyone to tell his story for the big screen.
“Senna”, a film directed by Asif Kapadia, tells the story of the life and death of Brazil’s triple world champion Ayrton Senna, who died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at Italy’s Imola circuit.
Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali said Ecclestone had played a huge role in the sport’s history.
“With half a billion global fans, and races in 23 countries, the interest and excitement around Formula One is huge and there will be eager anticipation for the series that will take the viewers on a journey into the life of one of sport’s most interesting characters,” said the former Ferrari team boss.
Formula One is the subject of a popular Netflix docu-series “Drive to Survive”, now filming a fourth season, that has been credited with a rise in popularity of the sport in the United States.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Ed Osmond)
