Manish Pandey, whose Senna film was perceived by many to unfairly cast the Frenchman in a ‘villain’ role against the late F1 legend, implied in this month’s Motor Sport magazine that amends has been made via the positive focus on Prost by Ecclestone – who emphasises the four-time champion is his favourite driver.
The issue is clearly still a sensitive one for the director though, suggesting some criticism wasn’t warranted.
“All I would say is at the end of Senna we had seven beats of Ayrton Senna and Prost reconciling,” says Pandey in defence. “I still feel bad that he felt done down. But look at that accident at Suzuka [1990]. There’s no alternative version in the film. Yes, Ayrton was angry, but so what? I don’t think Senna came out well. He looked crazy in those moments, and when Jackie Stewart dismembers him in his interview.”
In Lucky! a surprising amount of time is said to be dedicated to Prost, given that he never drove for Brabham. “As a team owner, Bernie knew how good Prost was,” says Pandey.
