Photo by Alan Roskyn/Netflix – © 2024 Netflix, Inc.
I could still see it with the same vividness as yesterday…That was a first-time I laid my eyes on Ayrton Senna on TV, and everyone was anticipating his best performance in Japan, especially since he secured the pole position in the 1988 F1 Japan Grand Prix, despite the flag dropping and engines roaring, there was one car that was holding back progress…McLaren automobile…that’s right, the car that Senna was driving…5 seconds later, tires finally spin on the ground of Suzuka Circuit.
Everyone thought he lost the race… but the fierce driver chased one car after another until the same McLaren automobile driven by Alain Prost, who was leading the race…In front of a frenetic crowd, cheering Senna on with their hands in the air as his car passed Alain Prost. The crowd went into a frenzy of excitement. That was the day when Senna became one of a kind driver, and in a certain sense, he still is… even 30 years after his untimely death.
Senna was regarded as a demigod in his homeland Brazil for his fierceness, risk-taking approach towards racing. Senna, a six-part dramatization of his life and tragic death on Netflix, Senna is portrayed by Gabriel Leone with thought and charisma. This is a frequently impressive drama that recreating the details of his early life when he was given his first racing kart, which his father Milton built himself to join Formula Ford 1600 and 2000, which is very engaging to someone like me who only knows his short F1 career.
Photo by Alan Roskyn/Netflix – © 2024 Netflix, Inc.
The series depicted his romantic relationships with his Brazilian girlfriend Lilian (Alice Wegmann) who became his wife and vowed him to stay in England for only one year. Senna’s announcement that he would be retiring from Formula Ford at the end of the 1981 season was due to pressure from his parents, who wanted him to help out in the family business, despite his success in England.
But Senna didn’t delve into chronicling his love affairs, including with Brazilian TV host Xuxa (Pâmela Tomé), which seems perfunctory and less than revealing. Those who haven’t seen any of Senna’s real races in the past may find those female characters weak because they didn’t realize his relationship with them became secondary to his racing.
He’s the type of the guy that complained to the mechanic and also drove thousands of miles to get the latest model of engine to win F3. The series is strictly meant to capture his mindset while he was driving and tension on the circuit, that’s one of the reasons that Senna’s estate is completely backing this project. The series really delved into his characteristic on the driver’s seat, if you are a fan of Formula One Racing, you’ll relive the moment with your fists clenched throughout the racing sequences.
Photo by Alan Roskyn/Netflix – © 2024 Netflix, Inc.
Throughout the series is fueled by a star-making turn from lead actor Gabriel Leone who makes Senna never dull. Leone played with a magnetic passion, he never overdoes it, making viewers eager to keep watching him. During moments when Senna is being cautious about what he says to the press, when he uses it to his advantage, or when he’s visibly worried about accidents on the racetrack, the series uncovers a greater amount of his thoughts.
Following his passing, the Brazilian government called for three days of national mourning, and his funeral was attended by the greatest and best of Formula One, past and present.
Senna, is a comprehensive look at one of motorsport’s most legendary individuals, Ayrton Senna. It really follows the life of the Brazilian racing phenomenon who transcended the bounds of Formula One racing, as Japanese narrator Ichiro Furutachi called him, “The Prince of Speed of Sound”.
This six-episode saga, Senna which will air on November 29th.
Grade : B＋
Photo by Alan Roskyn/Netflix – © 2024 Netflix, Inc.
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Here’s the trailer of the series.