Copyright Alan Roskyn / Netflix
Gabriel Leone plays Ayrton Senna in the Netflix miniseries.
TV SERIES – A resounding success that heralds the birth of a motorsport legend. The biopic miniseries Sennaavailable on Netflix since this Friday, November 29, tells the life of the Brazilian pilot Ayrton Senna by retracing the major events which marked the life of the triple Formula 1 world champion. And in particular the race which marked his rise.
During the six episodes, we follow the career of Ayrton Senna starting from his beginnings in Formula Ford in England, until the tragic San Marino Grand Prix at Imola where he and another pilot lost their lives over the weekend. The series shows how he became a national hero in Brazil. But she does not focus only on the sporting aspect, since the personal relationships that the pilot maintains with his family, his companions or the journalists who surround him are also treated.
Formula 1 being an international sport, the casting had to be just as international. The Brazilian Gabriel Leone (Ferrari) thus interprets Ayrton Senna, while the British actress Kaya Scodelario (The Gentlemen, The Labyrinth) plays Laura, a journalist who follows the pilot. France is also represented with Matt Mella (Greek salad), who plays Alain Prost, Senna’s rival, and Arnaud Viard (Thanks to God) is Jean-Marie Balestre, the former president of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).
The 1984 Monaco Grand Prix, first feat
In 1984, Ayrton Senna was still just a beginner who had to prove himself. A promising young driver who has just won the Formula 3 championship, he gets a seat at Toleman, a modest team that is struggling to stand out from the crowd. However, during the Monaco Grand Prix that year, he managed to impose his name on everyone’s minds.
During qualifying, the native of São Paulo only climbed to 13th place on the grid. In front of him are very talented drivers, already champions or champions in the making such as Alain Prost, Niki Lauda, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet or Keke Rosberg. But the rain comes and will level the performance of the drivers that day.
After the start of the race, the showers intensified and the driving became more and more complicated. From the second lap, already four drivers were forced to retire following accidents and leaving the track. Meanwhile, Ayrton Senna is gradually catching up with the competitors in front of him. The rain did not seem to affect him, as he overtook the other drivers one by one, until he found himself in second position behind the McLaren of Alain Prost.
Red flag and controversy
For his part, the French driver repeatedly called for the race to be stopped, believing that the track was not passable enough because of the soggy asphalt. Lap after lap, the Brazilian catches up and is only a few seconds behind Prost. But on the 32nd lap, the leader’s demands were heard: the red flag was waved, the race was stopped and the positions frozen. In the principality, for his fifth Formula 1 Grand Prix, Ayrton Senna climbed to the second step of the podium, but could have reached the first if the race had continued.
The series clearly shows the hot blood of the future legend. In a scene at the end of the Monaco race, Ayrton Senna lets out his frustration because he believes that the race could continue. And as a result, his victory was stolen from him. According to him, the FIA president ensured that the race management waved the red flag before Prost lost his first position. A first controversy which will increase his hostility towards Jean-Marie Balestre.
Even if Ayrton Senna did not manage to win the Monaco Grand Prix in 1984, he left his mark. And it wasn’t a fluke. A year later, he won his first race in Portugal. And in 1993, as a sign, the Brazilian, now a three-time world champion, became the record holder for the number of victories in Monaco.
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