The biggest names in Formula 1 car racing claim celebrity status. For example, Mercedes and future Ferrari team driver Lewis Hamilton is part owner of the Denver Broncos and producer of the upcoming film “F1” starring Brad Pitt. But long before stars like Hamilton, a name was hallowed: Ayrton Senna.
WHO? Well, first of all, that is Ah-EAR-ton the Brazilian star and former world champion who died in 1994 aged 34 when his car crashed into a wall at Italy’s Imola circuit. Netflix aims to appeal to the growing F1 fan base with “Senna” (streaming Friday), a six-part docudrama directed by Vicente Amorim and starring Brazilian actor Gabriel Leone (who played dashing racer Alfonso de Portago in Michael Mann’s “Ferrari”). .
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“Brazilian fans are waiting for the next Senna to emerge, but these are difficult shoes to fill. It’s like asking who is the next Pelé, the next Elvis, the next John Lennon?” says Amorim. “Guys like that don’t come along that often. There are many legendary drivers in Formula 1 racing, but only one hero: Senna.”
With Formula 1 now gaining more and more fans in the US thanks to the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive and the introduction of Formula 1 racing in the US, we’re taking a look at who this sporting legend was, with Amorim as our guide.
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Who was Ayrton Senna?
Ayrton Senna da Silva was born in São Paolo, Brazil, in 1960, the son of a factory owner and his wife. He developed a fascination for driving at an early age and chose the traditional path of go-kart racing, which led to his first national and international victories as a teenager.
“Later we all saw how great he was as a driver and also as someone who could just hear an engine and tell the mechanics what was wrong with it,” says Amorim. “But what I learned from this series was how emotions drive Senna. Personally, but also professionally. He wasn’t a cold, calculating guy; he literally wore his heart on his racing gloves, to change the metaphor. “That’s what made him so popular,” so many fans.
How successful was Formula 1 racing driver Ayrton Senna?
After moving up in karting, then Formula Ford and Formula Three, Senna made the big leap into the world’s top racing class in 1984 with the British team Toleman. He quickly became dominant, winning the prestigious Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship three times: 1988, 1990 and 1991.
“His relationship with time was different than ours,” says Amorim, referring to Senna’s ability to seemingly slow time while driving at more than 180 miles per hour. “This is something he developed as a young driver and mastered perfectly in his victorious F1 years. He had a hyperfocus that the drivers were amazed at.”
Are the racing scenes in the Netflix series “Senna” real?
“Senna” traces the racing driver’s short but successful life, from his early days as a karting champion to his final years dominating Formula 1. Amorim and his team built replicas of Senna’s cars from throughout his career, as well as dozens of other vintage-style vehicles, to mimic real racing with professional drivers.
“About 90% of the races you see in ‘Senna’ were real races that we filmed on location. And not just fast drivers, but recreations of important episodes in Senna’s racing career,” he says. “There were also some set extensions using computer graphics, and in the series when you see someone watching Senna’s race on TV, they are real footage of Senna at the time. We thought it was important to show the real man too.”
Was Ayrton Senna’s family involved in the creation of “Senna”?
“Senna” is exciting for those curious about how the Brazilian star became dominant in the sport, particularly how he mastered the art of racing in the rain in a way that few drivers have managed before or since. But much of the series focuses on Senna’s emotional state, be it his relationships with women or missing his family during the years he spent in Europe. The Senna family was instrumental in making this possible, says Amorim.
“They literally opened the vault for me, not only to their own memories of him, but also to the hours of recorded (telephone) conversations they had with him during the years he was away,” he says and adds that Leone listened to their tapes to get herself into the role. “These very human conversations helped me deepen the portrayal.”
How did Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna die?
Senna died on what is still one of the darkest days in racing history. The race weekend at the end of April got off to an inauspicious start when his Brazilian compatriot Rubens Barrichello had an accident during qualifying and broke his nose and arm. The next day, rookie Roland Ratzenberger crashed in qualifying and died. Then, on race day Sunday, an accident sent debris flying into the stands, injuring eight fans. On lap 7, Senna hit the wall at 191 mph and was killed instantly.
“His legacy is not only that he was a great driver and a great man, but also that after his death there were such big changes in Formula 1 that apart from one accident not a single driver died, which is remarkable “Considering how many died in Formula 1, decades before Senna,” says Amorim. “Ayrton had a huge impact on the sport, in life and in death.”
