PROJECT: Girl on the Grid – (Feature Sports Action/Drama)
SCREENWRITER: Maia Correll
LOGLINE: A ruthless racing driver's morals and integrity are tested as she turns all-consumed in overcoming stacked odds and systemic sexism to reach a lifelong goal of competing in Formula 1.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWNS:
NAOMI TESSE: a 24-year-old driver with an unprecedented aptitude for single-seater car racing, rises through the ranks in male-dominated motorsport and fulfills her lifelong goal of competing on the Formula 1 stage. She’ll need to build credibility and financial support in a system steeped in prejudice — even if it tests her integrity and morals.
NICOLA BOWEN: a 40-year-old struggling talent agent and sharing Naomi’s voracious appetite for victory, coerces Naomi to sign as her client, thereby saving the career she’s scrappily held onto for two decades.
ALFIE “COACH” FRASIER: a once-legendary mentor but now one step away from his third AA program, hesitantly agrees to mentor Naomi, hoping to amend his wavering reputation of the fatal catastrophe that involved the last driver he trained.
THEMATIC:
In a time where Formula 1’s recognition is skyrocketing, with the most ever eyes on motor racing’s mouthwatering international stage, this story follows a fictional athlete's relentless drive as she clambers her way to the top of fame, prestige, and praise amidst countless barriers against women long-sewn into the fabric of the sport. For a young modern audience so invested in these athletes and their world, the story combines the raw, gritty tone of FORD V FERRARI (2019) with the empowering and inspirational roots found in LADY DRIVER (2020).
RELEVANCE: This screenplay captures the same nail-biting action and dramatic driver-to-driver and team-to-team tension on display in the Netflix series DRIVE TO SURVIVE. With F1’s international appeal and its growing stake in the US market, this story follows the motorsport tide and uniquely features a woman at the front of it. This project received a "consider" rating through a Stage32 coverage review. Also, a pitch deck is available should parties be interested.
SYNOPSIS: This story follows NAOMI TESSE and her fictionalized journey from Women’s Series regular to her head-turning Formula 3 debut, culminating in a riveting Formula 2 season that will determine her future in motorsport. With a lifelong goal of competing in Formula 1, she’s got something to prove to the naysayers, that she’s worthy to share the stage with lauded world-class athletes. To build credibility and financial support despite the systemic prejudice, she enlists the help of two individuals: talent agent Nicola Bowen and trainer Alfie “Coach” Frasier, each with their own careers to uphold, and thereby personal stakes in Naomi’s success.
As Naomi grapples to attain the same respect and rapport as her male counterparts with crew members and executives, her on-track performance oscillates, though butting heads with Coach’s conservative strategies along the way. As she improves, basking in the lime-light, a seat in Formula 1 is within reach. But it begs the questions: is dignity worth sacrificing to acquiesce a lifelong goal? If so, to what extent? Or, after nearly fifteen years of having something to prove, will she be drunk in fame after her first sip, unintentionally sabotaging her chances of victory?
In a pivotal race near the end of the F2 season, she'll choose to back out of a fatal crash, consequently forfeiting a guaranteed victory. The real win isn't the trophy — though she'll go on to eventually win an F2 season and compete in F1. She’ll find her worth rooted within herself, rather than sourcing it from her victories, and that true accomplishment isn’t about the win or the loss, it’s the legacy you leave behind and the life you lived along the way. Through Naomi's pioneering spirit for women in motorsport, elevating more female drivers to a stage as grand and prominent as the males’, she'll establish the norm for male and female athletes competing in the same arena.
