The woman who tamed Ferrari: Croydon-born secretary who car king Enzo said ‘had the best chassis in Formula 1’ reveals how she kept womanising boss’s secrets as new film of his life hits big screen

He was the most powerful man in Formula 1, with his desire for victory on the track matched only by his passion for women.

As a new film charts the most turbulent chapter in the colorful life of legendary Italian carmaker Enzo Ferrari, the right-hand man to whom he entrusted the secrets of his many infidelities has provided an intriguing insight into this charismatic, contradictory pioneer. .

In an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, his Croydon-born secretary, Brenda Vernor, reveals how she was not immune to the glare of his lustful gaze – as well as his often fiery temper.

Ferrari once told her she had 'the best chassis in Formula 1' and she recalls: 'When you walked out of his office you could feel his eyes on you behind his dark glasses.

“He tried to talk to me a little bit. He complimented me on my legs and one time I asked if I could go on holiday and Enzo said, 'Are you going to wear a bikini? If you wear a bikini, you can go.”

But Brenda – the only woman in the company's 200-strong workforce – knew all about his mistresses, even though she feigned ignorance when his wife Laura asked her. “I pretended I didn't know about his infidelity,” she says. 'If I had talked, I would have been in trouble. I didn't want to get involved.'

Mrs Vernor, now 90, fled to Italy in the 1960s in search of a more glamorous and exciting life than Croydon had to offer.

She started mixing with the fast-living drivers and started a relationship with one of them, the Englishman Mike Parkes.

She knew the Ferrari family when she taught at a private school in Modena, attended by Piero Ferrari, Enzo's illegitimate son and his mistress Lina Lardi. And when she was finally hired by Enzo, after Parkes' death in a car accident, it was because he wanted someone to translate his correspondence into English.

'I was the only woman among 199 men. Can you imagine that?, she says. 'They used to call me 'rompipalle' – ball breaker. I was strong because I had three brothers at home and that was necessary.'

Although it wasn't part of her job, she did her best by washing drivers' overalls and answering their fan mail. “I did everything for them,” she says. “When I said I was going to write a book about my experiences, they all said, 'Jesus, if you write everything you know about us, our women will shoot us!'

For years she was also known as the keeper of Enzo Ferrari's secrets. She calls him 'the old man' and says that he was a notorious 'infedele' who regularly cheated on his wife.

Talking to us in her flat in Maranello, Ferrari's home base, Brenda turns her nose up when asked about Ferrari's wife Laura. “She always asked me, 'Why are all these women following my husband?' I replied, “Ask him, not me.”

“I think he found it difficult to live with her and that's why he had so many wives.”

Ferrari was obsessed with building the fastest cars in the world, but he also suffered from severe claustrophobia and could not board a plane. His fear of using lifts meant the company's offices were spread out over one floor – and also spared Brenda from his advances.

Once, after taking her home, Enzo asked what floor her apartment was on. When she said it was on the ninth, he felt cold at the thought of inviting himself in.

Brenda says she also witnessed the Italian's enormous tantrums with her own eyes. 'If we had won [a race]“He would be in a good mood,” she said. “If we had lost, close your doors.” She describes how he spoke in the Modenese dialect during his worst outbursts. “He got angry and his face was red for ten minutes.”

The new film, simply called Ferrari, stars Adam Driver as the racing pioneer and Penelope Cruz as his wife – a casting decision Brenda wasn't sure about.

“Cruz is a good actress, but I don't think she's right because she has dark hair,” while Laura was blonde and had blue eyes.

“They were probably hoping she would look more Italian,” Brenda adds.

The film, which is released on Boxing Day, shows Ferrari struggling to save his marriage after his affair with mistress Lina Lardi and the birth of Piero.

Brenda said, “I was thinking about the stuff with the Old Man and [Lina] should have stayed outside. It was just a bit personal, I didn't like it. The movie was okay, but a bit long. I wouldn't bother looking at it.'

Enzo died in 1988 at the age of 90, leading to the end of Brenda's employment. Although she has a good relationship with Piero, now 78, who inherited ten percent of the prestigious car company.

Recalling Enzo's last years, she said: 'He had problems with his kidneys and didn't want to go to hospital. He had all the doctors and machines in his house in Modena. He was as stubborn as a mule. Even though he had been sick for a long time, I thought he would last forever.

'He was a genius and someone who made some of the best cars ever known. We'll never see him again.'