Senna Netflix review: New series sugar-coats F1 legend's story

Many of the racing scenes appear more realistic than those shown in previous efforts like Rush and Le Mans ’66, but you get the impression in Senna that the more expensive the car is, the slower it seems to go on track.

As the story winds its way through the ‘80s, so the accompanying pop soundtrack gets cheesier and more saccharine, peaking with the Brazilian victory theme tune Tema de Vitoria.

Some of the casting is spot on, while elsewhere it’s a bit wayward. Keke Rosberg isn’t exactly the king of cool in his portrayal here, but James Hunt is the charismatic Senna supporter behind the commentator’s mic – cigarette in mouth, glass of red in hand.

There’s some nice lateral thinking with karting scenes interposed with F1 wet-weather heroics while the series, like Drive to Survive, does elegantly tap into a lot of what makes the world championship alluring: 200mph heroes racing in a different glamorous location every fortnight, lauded by fans worldwide.

There’s a bit more green screen action than the average diehard might want to endure, but such is the viewing experience for any racing fan with this kind of title.

It’s hard to ignore some historical inconsistencies though. What is undeniable about Senna is that we’re very much getting an airbrushed version of the character.

“This series gives the opportunity to get to know the man behind the myth,” says director Julia Rezende in a behind-the-scenes extras feature.

Really? We’re not so sure. What it actually does is emphasise the bits the family seem to want us to believe, and shy away from the parts of his personality that were either more difficult to fathom or were simply unsavoury.

“Senna was an extremely complex individual, and the series seeks to gloss over that”

Senna was an extremely complex individual, and the series seeks to gloss over that.

His ideas of ‘good and evil’ weren’t quite as clear cut as the film makes out.

In conversations with the fictionalised version of his karting rival Terry Fullerton, the latter glorifies Senna’s willingness to go for a gap in any scenario.

This often led to dangerous situations playing out, letting his rivals choose whether to crash or concede the position.

This used to particularly rankle with arch-rival Alain Prost, who commented in real life “Ayrton has a small problem, he thinks he can’t kill himself, because he believes in God.”

Mike Doodson, a journalist who was close to Senna in his early years, wrote in a 2010 archive piece about the driver describing his own religious experiences.

“At Monaco, he admitted [to the Brazilian edition of Playboy], he had been in a sort of trance. Coming down to Portier he had seen a light shining from out in the sea, which he interpreted as a divine command to sacrifice his race,” said Doodson.

“He went further. At Suzuka, where he won the title, he had seen a vision of Christ as he went round the Spoon Curve on his victory lap.”

The series only vaguely alludes to “Believing in God” and the “Big Man upstairs” – the family seemingly not wanting the Senna character to stray into the fanaticism or mysticism that the real man appeared to at times use to justify his actions.

As far as Prost goes, if he wasn’t happy with his portrayal in the Senna documentary, he’ll hardly be pleased with this depiction either. Yet again he’s simply cast as the villain to the Brazilian’s hero. It’s all bad on one side, all good on the other apparently.

As the series reaches its tragic climax, the Benetton traction control rumour narrative is pushed heavily too. Of course this is Senna the character talking about the subject in a dramatic portrayal, but you get the feeling it’s almost the family’s apparent fixation using the series as a mouthpiece.

If you manage to get through all six episodes, the Imola ’94 finale is heart-wrenching on one level, but at the same time an emotional ending is so inevitable it’s almost trivialised. This is Ayrton Senna Disney-fied, and will leave some uncomfortable.

Ultimately, Senna the Netflix series is Rush strung out over six hours, with fewer jokes (i.e. none). Can you go the distance?