MILAN — “Sign to survive” would have made a fitting tweak to the title of the popular Netflix show dedicated to Formula 1 on Wednesday, when hundreds of fans flooded the streets here to get a glimpse of their favorite racing drivers and chase them for an autograph or selfie.

Strengthening the increasingly successful tie between the Fashion and luxury worlds and the sport, many brands leveraged the lead-up to the Italian Grand Prix in Monza this weekend to generate a little extra buzz with a little help of their affiliated F1 superstars.

Needless to say, Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz were called to go the extra mile in promotional tours, which both tackled without enthusiasm throughout the long hours thanks to the overwhelming support of the “Tifosi,” as the fans of the Prancing Horse team are called.

These first swarmed outside the Ray-Ban store, where Leclerc and Sainz showcased the new Monza Limited Edition sunglasses made of red carbon fiber with yellow detailing and available only in 1,200 pieces worldwide.

Part of the crowd then moved to the Ferrari store located few steps away from the Duomo cathedral and joined the mass of screaming supporters that had been queuing outside the location since early morning to secure the best spots to witness the drivers’ arrival.

Before indulging in autograph-signing and posing for fans’ social media, Leclerc and Sainz presented the special race suit and helmets designed exclusively for the Monza GP and accented by popping yellow details, a retro logo and nods to the team’s historic win of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race earlier this year. An exclusive capsule collection of matching merchandise developed with Puma for the occasion was also available at the store.

Speaking with celebritiestalks, both drivers agreed on their favorite features of the special race suit, including the color combination mixing black, red and yellow; the old-school logo, and fit.

“The red: how can I not like the red? I mean Ferrari is red, it’s its mark since the beginning and how I fell in love with Ferrari, with the red car on the track in Monaco,” Leclerc said.

He shared to have special connection with Fashion far from the grid, too, as he revealed that if he weren’t a driver, he would have been either an architect or have his own Fashion brand.

“I love Fashion, it’s always something that I’ve looked into. My style has changed over the years: [when I arrived] in Formula 1, I was more [into a] lot of colors, very baggy [shapes]. Now I’m more about a classic style, but I like [Fashion] and I change it with my humor of the day. I think it’s an amazing way to express yourself without speaking,” Leclerc said.

Asked if fans should expect to see a Leclerc Fashion brand in the future — in addition to his unexpected side gigs as piano player unveiled this year — he said, “Maybe one day. But I’m lucky enough to be driving for Ferrari, which now has its own Fashion brand and [with] which I hope we can collaborate even more in the future in order to do some exciting things together.”

Sainz echoed that racing for Scuderia Ferrari came with its Fashion perks, too. “I’ve always been a very classic, normal guy. I haven’t really been into Fashion until the last couple of years when I got to attend events in Ferrari style and learn a lot more about the Fashion world,” he said. “Since then, I’m building a bit my own opinion and my own style and I’m enjoying the process.”

Joining the drivers in store, Ferrari’s creative director Rocco Iannone revealed he feels he’s on a learning curve, as well.

“I have a consolidated background in Fashion but to be able to bring my experience and embrace such a vast universe like the F1 one and automotive in general is an enriching element and a way to widen my visual horizons,” Iannone said.

“To be able to instill the language of such an important and globally known brand in a Fashion business, therefore in a direction that brings the label under the eyes of new consumers including women, is for sure the most exciting challenge. It’s not an exercise you do in two seasons, also because we don’t really have an archive to start from,” he continued.

The designer teased the upcoming runway show scheduled for Sept. 23 will mark “a further step in this fine-tuning process, which led me to express in a more precise way what is the Ferrari language, intended as a sentiment.”

“What I wanted to do was not translating cars in my collections but the sentiment that our brand evokes, which is made up of power, eroticism and sensuality. This is the focus of my next collection,” Iannone said.

Along with the Fashion world, the movie industry is not immune to the appeal of Formula 1 and the ever-increasing grip it has on audiences. Cue the much-anticipated Apple Studios film starring Brad Pitt and directed by Joseph Kosinski, whose previous work includes “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Oblivion” and “Tron: Legacy.” The Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Sir Lewis Hamilton is an executive producer of the movie, too.

After filming scenes at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone in July, Pitt and his costar Damson Idris are expected to hit Monza, too.

“I think it’s safe to say that Formula 1 is now blooming everywhere and is [experiencing] a very good moment. You can see it in Monza, with the Tifosi every year and with younger and younger generations attending, but also with Hollywood having an interest in creating a film around it,” Sainz said.

“And we will share track again with Brad Pitt and the whole crew, which we are getting used to it now because it’s been the whole year like this,” added the Spanish driver, whose images from the set portraying him alongside Pitt went viral over the summer.

Does this mean that an acting career is on the horizon for Sainz? Not so fast.

“I know what my talents are and it’s racing,” he said with a smile. “And if I can do a bit of a cameo somewhere I will, but [acting] is not in my interests.”

A couple of hours later, a stone’s throw away from the Ferrari store, two-time Formula 1 world champion and current championship leader Max Verstappen shared the same plans to stick to the world of racing.

“I will still want to race a little bit, not of course as intensely as Formula 1 but definitely in some other categories and, beside that, just have a nice time with my family, visit new places in the world and work on my own projects outside of Formula 1 and try to made them successful as well,” Verstappen told celebritiestalks when asked about his future. He reiterated that his side projects would be mainly related to racing, so no Fashion line in sight for him.

The Dutch talent touched base in the city’s Golden Triangle to help Tag Heuer cut the ribbon on its new store. Slightly more quiet than the Tifosi but still passionate, fans and the curious crowded the tony Via Monte Napoleone and stopped traffic to catch him and Oracle Red Bull Racing team manager Christian Horner coming out of the store.

For the occasion, the boutique’s windows showcased the special Tag Heuer Monza Calibre Heuer 02 Flyback watch, dedicated to the Monza GP, and displayed the new Monaco Skeleton timepiece that Verstappen wore when he won the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year.

Then both Verstappen and Horner moved to the nearby Portrait Milano hotel, where an exclusive cocktail and private dinner for 80 guests was held to fete the new boutique, which marks the fourth outpost the LVMH-owned watchmaker has in the Italian market after the recent opening in Florence, the unit in Rome unveiled last year and the historic one in Venice.

Arriving at the venue, Verstappen and Horner were introduced by Tag Heuer’s chief executive officer Frédéric Arnault to Lorenzo Bertelli, Prada’s head of CSR, and took a few minutes to discuss their shared passion for racing.

Currently leading the championship with 339 points, versus 201 points scored by runner-up and teammate Sergio Perez, Verstappen is considered the favorite for the victory in Monza this weekend. If he does eventually bring the trophy home, he will hit his 10th victory in a row, breaking the record held by Sebastian Vettel.

“Time is currently my close friend, I think,” he said with a smile. “I don’t want to lose that streak but would like to keep on going, and hopefully we can have another one this weekend, but it’s always very unpredictable,” Verstappen continued. Looking at Arnault, he jokingly added that “maybe if I win the race, I get a present…”

Still, breaking records is not an obsession for the driver — “I will probably appreciate it more when I will stop racing in Formula 1,” he said — nor is piling up world championships, as he candidly admitted he never had a target and “don’t really care about the number.”

Asked about his favorite way to spend time far from the track, Verstappen said he “would like time to go really slowly when I’m at home to try to enjoy it to the maximum. So it’s more just being at home, trying to catch up with family and friends.”