Almost four years since Netflix first announced its drama series about Formula 1 legend Ayrton Senna (full name: Ayrton Senna da Silva), the streamer has finally provided a teaser trailer.
This early preview depicts the three-time world champion’s historic win at the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix (Interlagos) — Senna’s maiden victory in his hometown of Sao Paulo — following a challenging race where his McLaren-Honda was mostly stuck in sixth gear.
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As we’ve previously reported, Gabriel Leone (200 Anos, Michael Mann’s Ferrari) has been tasked with the difficult task of portraying the man himself.
“It is a huge responsibility and also a great honour to be able to represent an icon who inspired so many people throughout his life, showing the world Brazilian sporting talent,” Leone, who himself is Brazilian, expressed via statement.
“Knowing that we will bring this story to millions of people in so many countries, through Netflix, inspires me to see this as one of the great roles of my career.”
“He has the ability to faithfully portray Ayrton’s unique personality, especially the Ayrton that we as a family knew, off the track,” noted Viviane Senna, sister of Ayrton.
Showrunner Vicente Amorim added: “Gabriel Leone has Senna’s charisma, intensity, and gentleness.”
According to the streaming giant’s newsroom post from 2020, the upcoming six-part affair will be an opportunity for fans to “cross the finish line” not with Senna, but with Beco or Becão (Senna’s nicknames among friends and family).
Leone will be joined by Kaya Scodelario, best known for her roles in The Maze Runner, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, British teen drama Skins; and most recently, starring opposite Theo James in Netflix’s The Gentlemen series.
“Being half Brazilian, it has always been a dream of mine to work on a Brazilian production,” said Scodelario, who portrays a fictional journalist named Laura (read: likely the series’ framing device).
“It is an honour to be involved in a project that tells the story of Ayrton, a true national hero who means so much to the people of Brazil and around the world. It’s a huge responsibility and I am so excited to go on this journey.”
Other since-confirmed names include Alice Wegmann as Lilian Vasconcelos, Senna’s first wife; Camila Márdila as the aforementioned sister Vivianne; Christian Malheiros as Senna’s friend Maurinho; Gabriel Louchard as Galvão Bueno; Matt Mella as McLaren Racing rival Alain Prost; Hugo Bonemer as his other rival and compatriot Nelson Piquet; Johannes Heinrichs and Leon Ockenden as fellow F1 greats Niki Lauda and James Hunt, respectively; and Steven Mackintosh as Frank Williams.
You can also expect Julia Foti as Adriane Galisteu; Marco Ricca as father “Maurão” Senna; Nicolas Cruz as brother Leonardo Senna; Rodrigo Veloso as brother-in-law Flavio; Susana Ribeiro as mother Zaza Senna; along with Arnaud Viard as Jean-Marie Balestre; Patrick Kennedy as Ron Dennis; Joe Hurst as Keith Sutton; Keisuke Hoashi as Osamu Goto; Richard Clothier as Peter Warr; plus Tom Mannion as Sid Watkins.
Netflix’s Senna reportedly opens with his career debut, shortly after he arrived in England to compete in Formula Ford, depicting all the great triumphs and obstacles, and all the human moments in between, before eventually building up to the climatic (and extremely unfortunate) events of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy — the fateful incident which led to his very death.
“It is very special to be able to announce that we will tell the story that only a few people know about him,” revealed Viviane Senna.
“The Senna family is committed to making this project something totally unique and unprecedented. And no one better than Netflix, which has a global reach, to be our partner.”
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In addition to earning three Formula 1 world championships during the 1988, 1990, and 1991 seasons with Honda Marlboro McLaren, Senna’s decade-long career among the upper echelons of motorsport also included:
- 41 race wins
- 80 podiums
- 65 poles
- 19 fastest laps
- Over 600 career points
… as well as universal recognition for being one of history’s greatest and most influential Formula 1 drivers.
With general direction by Vicente Amorim — who has served as both showrunner and director —paired with additional direction by Julia Rezende, Netflix’s Senna has been produced by Gullane in partnership with Senna Brands and (as alluded to above) the icon’s own family.
Currently, Netflix has yet to confirm a specific release date for Senna. But we do know that production has already wrapped up in Sau Paulo and Angra dos Reis, Rio de Janeiro; along with Argentina, Uruguay, and the UK. We also know it’s set to premiere sometime in 2024.
Check out the teaser trailer for Netflix’s Senna above.
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