“Senna”, arriving on Netflix on November 29, 2024, is the first drama series dedicated to the immense Brazilian Formula1 champion Ayrton Senna. A man capable of doing the impossible on the track, a very talented, disciplined driver with integrity in his values and an eternal child in love with that car from which he has never been able to tear himself away. The story of Ayrton Senna is told by the new Netflix series “Senna” which shows the person, the sportsman, the champion but also the son, brother, husband, lover behind the Formula1 icon. But before diving back into an important piece of Formula 1 history, here is a little recap on Ayrton’s life, from his Brazilian origins to his victories on the track up to that accident in Imola that changed the history of this sport forever.
Senna: trailer, cast and plot of the Netflix series
Brazilian origins
Perhaps not everyone knows but Ayrton Senna’s real surname is “Da Silva”. Senna is her mother’s surname, which comes from her grandfather of Italian origins, who she decided to take on only after her career began to take off. Ayrton was born on 21 March 1960 in Sao Paulo and the Brazil that he left as a boy to go to Europe and try to become a professional driver has always remained in his heart.
The parents are Milton da Silva, who passed away in 2021, a Brazilian with a Spanish mother who in life was an entrepreneur and owner of farms and Neide Johanna Senna, still alive today, a Brazilian of Italian origins. Neide’s maternal grandparents, in fact, were originally from the province of Lucca while her paternal grandparents were from Sicily and the province of Naples.
The prizes won
Ayrton Senna remains, to this day, one of the greatest drivers of all time. His love for his sport has always been the priority over everything, even his private life. “Racing, competing, it’s in my blood. It’s part of me, it’s part of my life. I’ve done it all my life and it stands out above everything else”, is one of Senna’s declarations and after a childhood spent on karting, the Brazilian is aiming for Formula1 until he becomes an absolute champion.
Extremely skilled especially in wet driving and speed in qualifying, which led him to hold the record of pole position (65) from 1989 to 2006, Senna still holds the record for victories on the Monte Carlo track, six in total, including five consecutively between 1989 and 1993 and, thanks to his 41 Grand Prix wins, he is, to date, the sixth most successful driver in the history of Formula 1.
Ayrton was a three-time Formula 1 world champion with McLaren in 1988, 1990 and 1991.
The loves
Senna married only once, in 1981, before his sporting successes, to former schoolmate Lilian De Vasconcelos. The marriage ended, however, after only eight months due to Ayrton’s great sporting ambitions which did not match his partner’s marital desires. Then, Senna had several flirtations including the one with the Brazilian showgirls Xuxa and Adriane Galisteu, the one with the American top model Carolt Alt and the Italian Cristina Pensa. His one great love, however, has always been running.
The accident in Imola and the causes of death
Ayrton Senna was the victim of an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix on the Imola circuit on May 1, 1994, at the age of 34. At 2.17pm, while he was leading the race, he lost control of the car at the Tamburello curve and went off the track until crashing into a concrete barrier. He suffered serious head injuries and died the same day at 6.40 pm at the Maggiore hospital in Bologna.
The cause of the accident was a steering failure due to a poorly performed modification shortly before the race. It was Senna himself who requested this modification to the single-seater to have a better driving position.
The same accident, with the same dynamics, also involved Rubens Barrichello during practice for the race, but he emerged unharmed.
Senna’s grave is located in the cemetery of Morumbi, a neighborhood in the west of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
