Netflix is releasing its new F1 series on November 29, centered around Ayrton Senna. Soberly titled ‘Senna’, it returns in 6 episodes of around 1 hour each on the life and career of the triple Brazilian world champion, who died a little over 30 years ago in Imola.
The first part of this review is guaranteed spoiler-freeand we’ll let you know when they arrive! We will discuss the overall quality of the series before, in the second part of the article, returning to the episodes and the content of the series.
First of all, we can salute the acting work of Gabriel Leone, who compensates for a face rather different from that of the triple Brazilian world champion with expressions, but above all with a voice and diction which are very close to that of ‘Magic’.
The series uses classic tricks of the genre: ego wars, a romance disrupted by the sporting ambitions of the main protagonist, already seen montages for the racing scenes, and long ‘face to face’ shots with the eyes of the pilot, and an antagonist who is somewhat served by too much Manichaeism.
Nevertheless, the part about the beginnings of his career is interesting, and the direction is careful for the scenes off the track. For the track scenes, the speed effect is well represented, but certain biases will make purists cringe.
For example, all lower category scenes take place on the same track. The production certainly considered it too complex to shoot on numerous circuits, and we find the same track each time. More generally, the circuits are not always well represented.
Additionally, the on-track battle footage during the Formula 1 scenes uses a somewhat small amount of 3D visual effects. Not always successful, they nevertheless offer a correct immersion in these sequences.
Besides Leon, we can salute the overall work of the actors to stick to their characters. We note in particular the success of the incarnations of Niki Lauda, James Hunt (then commentator), and even Jean-Marie Balestre.
Finally, it is always pleasant – but also a little disturbing – to relive in a fictional way the most significant scenes of Senna’s career, often marked by controversies of all kinds and by tensions with those around him. Scenes that, for the most part, happened, and for all of them have real inspiration.
What does the Netflix series ‘Senna’ show?
If you do not want to know more about the content of the series, we do not recommend going any further, because the rest of this article contains spoilers over the six episodes of the season.
The first episode begins directly on May 1, 1994, during the fatal accident of the Brazilian pilot, which is not shown but seen from Brazil. A Brazil in which we quickly immerse ourselves, with Senna’s youth and his love for motorsport.
With lots of pop and rock music, this first part shows Senna’s departure for Europe, his debut in Formula Ford under the name Ayrton Da Silva. First victory, first off-track, first altercation, first doubts about his personal life: we see all the moments that shaped the start of the driver’s career.
The second episode highlights his sacrifices, starting with that of his romantic union, in order to continue racing in the United Kingdom even though he had initially committed to only one season in England. The sporting framework of this second episode is his fight against Martin Brundle in F3 and his management of doubts and pressure.
It is also in this episode that he takes the wheel at Toleman and we see him get into a team car. His first test in F1 is passed over in silence but this narrative arc nevertheless remains interesting.
We discover Nelson Piquet, Niki Lauda and Alain Prost. And the 1984 season is narrated with a focus on the famous Monaco Grand Prix during which he scored his first podium in torrential rain.
In the middle of archive images and dynamic montages with short and close-up shots, we see some rather credible images of racing seen from the outside. The race is rather followed in a manner faithful to reality.
Given the density of Ayrton Senna’s career, episode 3 begins directly with the 1985 season and with his first victory in Formula 1, at the Portuguese Grand Prix. It stretches until the 1988 season and the Brazilian driver’s first world title.
Episode 4 begins directly with the disagreement between Senna and Prost at Imola in 1989, and the Frenchman is clearly portrayed as the main antagonist in Senna’s life and career, which he really was.
Unfortunately, there is sometimes a tendency to add to the devilish side of Prost, and a provocative aspect that has never been portrayed to this extent. The series indulges in narrations clearly incriminating Prost, sometimes even implying collusion with the president of FISA, Jean-Marie Balestre.
Episode 5 begins in the off-season between 1989 and 1990, after the loss of the world title which caused a crisis of confidence for the Brazilian. A slightly fictionalized scene shows his last-minute commitment to the year 1990.
Unlike the documentary ‘Senna’ from the beginning of the 2010s, the film does not fall into too pronounced Manichaeism, making the main character at all costs the good guy in the story, confronted with the bad guy Prost.
The dark side of Senna is shown in this episode 5, in which we see him foment alongside Gerhard Berger the clash with Prost, which allowed him to win the world title but blurred their relationship for several years. The series also offers a small Western-style confrontation of glances, for the climax of the tensions between the two pilots.
Another of the most legendary moments of this episode 5 is Ayrton Senna’s first victory in front of his home crowd, in 1991 at Interlagos with a car in agony, and arms bruised by the lack of power steering and only one gear.
The 1992 season is completely absent from the episode and the series, and 1993 is reduced to a discussion between Senna and Dennis, about the Brazilian’s desire to join Williams for 1994.
Episode 6, the last, jumps directly back in time to Imola 1994. This final episode is very didactic about the new regulations, about the weekend’s accidents, or even about the difficulties of Williams and Senna with the FW16.
Note that the narration allows itself some liberties, such as bringing Senna to the scene of Roland Ratzenberger’s accident, even though the Brazilian had only been on the track at the end of the day.
The resurrection of the GPDA, the drivers’ association, is somewhat romanticized, as is a long discussion Prost and Senna had after Ratzenberger’s accident. But this sequence also allows us to put Prost’s negative image into perspective, and gives a little substance to their human relationship.
The accident itself is only shown through a series of close-ups of the eyes of those close to him. We then see archive images mixed with filmed scenes – always a great success of this series – of the procession during the funeral of the man who had become the idol of an entire people.
The series ends with a statement from Ayrton Senna, the real one, who philosophizes about his life in front of the camera, before Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best’ resonates on several Senna videos, echoing various sequences from the six episodes.
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