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Christian Bale quits Enzo Ferrari biopic over weight gain

Christian Bale has an unusual but rational reason for dropping the role of Enzo Ferrari in the upcoming biopic of that same name, Variety reports. The actor, famous for his role in the Dark Knight trilogy and American Psycho, apparently felt that he couldn't gain the weight necessary to start filming this spring quickly enough without putting his health in danger. As we reported last year, Bale was to play Ferrari during a dark year for the company, when 11 people died during an accident involving one of the company's race cars during the 1957 Mille Miglia, a race in Italy held on public roads. The crash led to the cancelation of the Mille Miglia entirely. The script itself is based on a book written by famous automotive journalist Brock Yates, "Enzo Ferrari, The Man, The Cars, The Races." While the director, Michael Mann, now has to scramble to find a new lead actor, Robert de Niro is reportedly developing a movie in which he will play il Commendatore over a wider span of the man's life. Nonetheless, the idea of two Enzo biopics in the offing should make gearhead movie lovers doubly happy. Related Video:

Ferrari embroiled in legal battle over 21-year-old's Facebook page

Ferrari is facing a court battle in Switzerland due to alleged copyright infringement over taking over a Facebook fan site. If the suit is successful, it could cost the company millions and harm its reputation on social media.
Sammy Wassem started the Facebook fan page for Ferrari when he was 15 and eventually grew it to over 500,000 followers. In 2009, the company congratulated the him on the site's success, but said that "legal issues" forced it to take over the administration, according to Automotive News Europe. Wassem could still use the site, but managers had oversight.
Wassem asked Ferrari for financial compensation to keep working on the page but continued creating content on it for the next four years. Eventually, the company terminated his administration rights, and In 2013, the he and his father Olivier filed the lawsuit against the business alleging it owes payment over 5,500 hours of work and copyright infringement for taking over the page. They are asking for 10 million Swiss francs ($11.3 million).

Sebastian Vettel captures Belgian Grand Prix

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium – Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel sped away from first corner carnage to celebrate a commanding Belgian Grand Prix victory on Sunday and trim Lewis Hamilton's Formula One lead to 17 points with eight races remaining. Hamilton, last year's winner in Belgium, started from pole position but finished second for Mercedes while Red Bull's Max Verstappen gave his army of Dutch fans something to cheer with third place. In the battle of four-times world champions, Hamilton now has 231 points to Vettel's 214. "I had a great start, I'm not sure Lewis saw me as he pushed me to the left in the first lap, but after last year I ended up short, and this year it was the other way around," said Vettel of his decisive pass on Hamilton. "As soon as I was ahead I relaxed. I had a good restart after the safety car, and after that it was a very smooth race," he added. The start provided most of the afternoon's excitement, with Fernando Alonso's McLaren flying over Charles Leclerc's Sauber at the La Source hairpin after being rammed by Renault's Nico Hulkenberg. All three retired as the safety car was deployed for four laps but Leclerc had reason to thank the 'halo' head protection system -- introduced this season -- for allowing him to step away unscathed. Television close-up images after the race showed the structure heavily marked by the impact. "The Halo was a very good thing to have today. I think for him, it helped," commented Spaniard Alonso, who will be leaving Formula One at the end of the season. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, a four times winner in Belgium, and Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo also collided at the start and retired after pitting, the Finn having to wait for his 100th career podium. At the front, Vettel swiftly seized the lead from Hamilton down the Kemmel straight on the opening lap and never looked back, taking the checkered flag 11.0 seconds clear of Hamilton. "He drove past me like I wasn't even there on the straight," said Hamilton, who was quick to shake his rival's hand and offer congratulations. "They have got a few trick things going on in the car," he added. "I did what I could, we did what we could so we have to keep working." It was the German's fifth win of the campaign, matching his British rival, and 52nd of his career -- one more than the great four times champion Alain Prost managed. Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas finished fourth, and set the fastest lap, after starting 17th.