Senna: a biopic that will delight Formula 1 fans (review)

The meteoric rise of the racing driver who died in 1994. A biopic which finds its true formula in the titanic duel between Alain Prost and Magic Senna.

Long before Max Verstappen, long before Lewis Hamilton or even Michael Schumacher, there was Senna ! A true legend of Formula 1, who died at just 34 years old, the Brazilian driver is told to us like never before, thirty years after his death, in a very lovely Netflix series.

This American-Brazilian co-production transcribes the journey of the Formula 1 champion, under the watchful eye of his family, until the tragedy at Imola.

Concretely, the mini-series opts for a chronological framework, emphasizing the man's rage to win against all odds as well as his attachment to his native country (up to his turn towards philanthropy). A biopic that runs at full speed and struggles, at first glance, to settle down, vacillating between the aspirations of the pilot in the yellow helmet (played by Gabriel Leoneseen in the Ferrari by Michael Mann) and his eternal rivalry with Alain Prost. But Senna gains precisely in power when it is considered as a spiritual continuation of Rush by Ron Howard (2013), which retraced the mirror confrontation of James Hunt and Niki Lauda on the same field.

The Netflix series opts for an analogous approach, showing a pilot surpassing himself (by finding female figures in front of him who are so many viatics on his journey), and who ends up finding meaning in his life in this famous rivalry with his nemesis. The two men will challenge and respect each other and it is in their duels on the track, their mano a mano struggles captured at full speed or in the behind-the-scenes negotiations that the series thrills. The character of Niki Lauda (Johannes Heinrichs) also makes the link. He is rare but omnipresent, as if observing the action from a distance. Each of his appearances acts as a passing of the baton.

Senna, on Netflix, six episodes, to watch from November 29, 2024