We Race, imagining the future of formula 1

Gordon Sorlini

The Scuderia's first-ever comic strip is a story about the passion for racing, set - initially - in a Blade Runner-like world

The year is 2057. The world as we know it is no more: at the turn of the century, a climactic cataclysm led to the Transformation, which altered the face of the Earth, wiping out old continents while creating new ones. Years on, humanity – with its knack for survival – has managed to create a new world. The derelict cities of old have been replaced by new metropolises, with towers of glass and carbon fibre, surrounded by lush forests and crystal-clear waters. Climate has been stabilized and the Earth reclaimed. Amid this new renaissance, the passions of old have once again re-emerged, even as the new world is one increasingly focused on the future.

Self-driving cars – sentient vehicles that are driven by complex algorithms – rule the roads and have revolutionised not only transportation, but racing as well. A new championship – Formula New – has taken over from the car racing championships of the old world. The new F-Mach cars sport such technological innovations as artificial intelligence dynamic control systems (to support drivers), four-wheel drive with heavily grooved tyres (for maximum traction) and vertical winglets (designed to aid directional stability).

Speed ahead twenty years and the Formula New gets its first, major, shakeup as a revolutionary new rule is introduced: all cars must be equipped with self-driving capabilities. Human drivers participate only in minor leagues or test their mettle on the illegal circuits. It is such a radical change – shaking the sport at its core – that Formula New ceases to exist and is replaced by the new Formula Warp. Without human pilots – and, therefore, no concerns about injuries in case of collisions – cars can take outlandish risks; it’s pure spectacle.

Meanwhile, among the innovations for spectators, VIS.IO virtual reality headsets allow fans to see the race from the “driving” seat – or from one of the seven other cameras, which feed live, high-definition video footage to VR headsets. Gruelling circuits, extreme race conditions, futuristic vehicles: Formula Warp is an unforgettable experience that exceeds all of Man’s limits. Yet some things don’t change (so much): as in the past, the championship is dominated by a few racing teams. Now jump ahead to the year 2095. Formula Warp is about to be shaken up: in a mysterious factory, a new single-seater that will take on the champions is being assembled.

It’s a special model, destined to forever change the history of the championship itself. At least, this is what its creator – a certain Lucas Hoth – hopes. Hoth is at the heart of a new scuderia, Legacy Racing, whose adventures are likely to become the stuff of legend. This is the setting of We Race (weracecomic.ferrari.com), the new comic strip about future racing launched last March by Scuderia Ferrari, whose aim is not just to create an engaging story, but to find a new channel through which to transmit the values of the Scuderia itself.

While the story is built around technology and cars, it is in fact a story about a young driver who has to overcome his own fears as he takes on the greatest challenge of his life. As with Formula One racing today, it is, above all, a tale of passion, community and the importance of team work: all values shared by Formula 1 racing - and racers - today. And just like today, heritage - the passing on of principles, values and ideas, from one generation of drivers to the next - is one of the foundations of We Race.

So far, two seasons of the comic strip - developed by some of Italy's leading comic strip writers and illustrators - are online. We Race 2057 (four chapters) was written by Giulio Antonio Gualtieri and illustrated by Riccardo Burchielli, while We Race 2059 (six chapters) was written by Raffaele Compagnoni and Giulio Antonio Gualtieri with illustrations by Gianmaro Veronesi. Cover art is handled by French Carlomagno while Giuseppe Camuncoli is responsible for overall artistic supervision. More episodes are on the way, so stay tuned!