SERIES REVIEW – Senna, the new six-part Netflix miniseries, delves into the life and career of legendary Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna. The Netflix series traces Senna’s journey from his early passion for racing to his tragic death, offering insights into his personal relationships and the intrigue-filled world of Formula 1.

The name Ayrton Senna resonates powerfully, especially with Brazilians and Formula 1 fans. A genius driver, young, handsome, and charismatic, he became an icon and spokesperson for his country’s plight during his short career. In 1994, at just 34 years old, he died in a tragic accident while starting from pole position for the San Marino Grand Prix. Asif Kapadia’s masterpiece, the 2010 documentary Senna, elegantly used archival footage to build narrative tension and paint a vivid portrait of the driver. In contrast, Netflix’s new dramatized approach, which aims to capture this “live fast, die young” trajectory, starts off with some momentum but quickly runs out of steam, finishing well before the checkered flag.

The Story of the Uncrowned King of Circuits

Showrunner Vicente Amorim weaves a sort of Crown-esque legend around Ayrton Senna, played by Gabriel Leone, whose features, while slightly softer than Senna’s, are nonetheless charismatic. The series opens, naturally, with the tragic accident that took Senna’s life, then flashes back to his childhood in Brazil, where his father, a wealthy landowner and industrial tycoon, nurtures his son’s passion for driving from an early age. (The series even suggests that the young Senna discovered his talent sitting in a parked car as a child, practicing his driving by imitating the “vroom-vroom” engine noises.)

From there, his career took off: first in professional karting racing, then in Formula Ford and beyond. We witness Senna’s ambition, his passion for victory, which sometimes clashes with the points priorities of the championships. The risks taken to succeed, as well as the racism faced by Brazilians on European circuits, are also highlighted. In addition, we witness Senna’s clashes with his French teammate-turned-rival, Alain Prost (Matt Mella), who becomes a symbol of their intense competition.

However, the backbone of the series is Gabriel Leone’s performance. His committed acting is not only the engine that brings the series to life, but it also makes up for many of its shortcomings. He bears a remarkable resemblance to Senna while capturing both the confidence and vulnerability of the real-life character. While Amorim’s vision oversimplifies Senna’s character – presenting him as one-dimensional as a man solely focused on winning – Leone’s performance brings dignity to the man’s frustrations, joys and inner struggles.

Emotional tracks and turns

Yet the real stars are the races themselves. These adrenaline-fueled, high-octane scenes are masterfully composed to convey the thrill of speed and Senna’s position in the pack. While some later race scenes show signs of CGI assistance (they don’t quite reach the visual madness of Speed ​​Racer, at least in my opinion), they maintain a realistic and authentic dynamic. The gear changes, the screeching of tires, and the low-angle close-ups of Senna at the wheel bring the pulse of the track to life.

These sequences easily rival similar scenes in big-budget productions like Rush or Le Mans ’66, likely shot on a fraction of the budget. (It also helps that each race presents a new and exciting challenge for Senna—driving in torrential rain or dealing with duct tape on his engine that threatens to cause disaster before it overheats—these details make each race unique.)

In one of the early races, the series spends an inordinate amount of time showing a tiny centipede crossing the road as Formula 1 cars approach at terrifying speeds. The scene serves as a perfect visual metaphor for the contrast between speed, power, and fragility.

Love, Patriotism, and Stories Left Behind on the Track

Ayrton Senna is known as a spokesman for his people, and the series tries to portray that – albeit rather superficially. Most of the time, it attempts to convey Senna’s importance to his nation through Brazilian children staring at television screens, their mouths agape in admiration, as well as a few newspaper articles. However, we learn almost nothing about the political chaos in Brazil at the time or how Senna fought the child hunger crisis that was ravaging the country. Thus, he is presented more as a kind of national mascot than a true political icon.

The portrayal of female characters is also, unfortunately, underdeveloped. The Senna series uses them mainly as decorations, sex symbols, or tools to reflect the greatness of the protagonist. His first wife, Lilian (Alice Wegmann), is given little more to do than test Senna’s loyalty to racing. Likewise, his relationship with Brazilian TV star Xuxa (Pámela Tomé) is only touched upon, and his character is sorely lacking in depth.

Interestingly, the only female character who accompanies Senna throughout the series is entirely fictional: Laura (Kaya Scodelario), a bilingual journalist who spends her time flirting and delivering monologues explaining the current state of Senna’s career. She is also meant to represent Senna’s often tense relationship with the press – but she does so in a rather superficial and clichéd way.

Losing Momentum in the Final Laps

With its six one-hour episodes, Senna gets off to a flying start but falls deeper and deeper into the trap of sports history clichés as it progresses. (Oh, Senna only cares about winning to the exclusion of everything else? And this one-sided approach ruins his personal relationships? What a fresh and original approach!) Still, the series could be an ideal choice for a family holiday evening, with the ripping sounds of Formula 1 engines in the background while everyone else is busy doing something else.

However, if you are looking for a tighter, more honest and concise depiction of Senna’s career, Asif Kapadia’s 2010 documentary remains unbeatable. That film managed to vividly depict not only Senna’s racing genius, but also the depths of his personality and the complexity of the world around him. In contrast, the Netflix series often feels like mere aesthetic background noise that occasionally captures our attention but leaves no lasting impression.

– Gergely Herpai „BadSector”-