Landmark Classical Learning Center

19/26

The early races of Senna’s career in England are shown on a circuit near a mountain range

Plot

Fictional miniseries based on the life of Ayrton Senna da Silva, the Brazilian racing legend who won the Formula One World Drivers’ Championship three times. The writers of this series have said that they had some limitations due to the involvement of Senna’s family in the production.

OK, first things first

There are no mountains in England, especially Norfolk, which is famous for its flat landscape. I call this show the FW16 of biopics because, much like the car Senna died in, it was cool but, um…

I saw another reviewer say that the story was one-sided

Overall, they nailed Senna’s uncompromising nature, especially in illustrating the exasperation of his team managers. The attention to detail was brilliant; Watching the MP4/4 race gave me chills, but that scene of Senna alone in the briefing room at the end of Suzuka perfectly recreates the 1989 ITV scene.

I agree, but then, so what?

Fans who followed the misdeeds from 1989 to 1993 would be familiar with French Connection, if not openly believing its evangelical truth. This is obviously a show for Senna fans, not Balestre apologists.

That said, there were a few things the writers could have paid attention to: 1) Including Senna’s personal relationships with people like Gerhard Berger and Josef Leberer would have gone a long way in humanising him; 2) They could have put a lot more emphasis on the work Senna put into developing the car: he had a reputation for giving his mechanics feedback until they begged him to go home; and 3) Donnington 1993 – I can’t believe they completely ignored the greatest lap in F1 history