Senna

The first episodes are excellent, evoking nostalgia and making me cry. The racing scenes, paired with the actor playing Galvão Bueno, captured the magic I felt as a kid. Early on, Senna is shown as human, making mistakes, but once he joins McLaren, he's portrayed almost as a god-like figure, with amusing X-Men-style effects dramatizing his vision on the track. The show misses key elements: Senna's deep friendship with Gerhard Berger is barely explored, and his reconciliation with Prost is weak and inaccurately placed at Imola. Reginaldo Leme, crucial to Senna's early career, is reduced to the background. While nostalgic, it misses opportunities to humanize Senna further.

Firstly, while opinions on historical accuracy can vary, one cannot overlook the profound impact Ayrton Senna had on Brazil and its people. Beyond his undeniable talent and charisma on the racetrack, Senna was-and remains-a unifying symbol for a nation often divided by social, economic, and political differences. At a time when Brazil faced immense challenges, he brought hope, pride, and a rare sense of togetherness. Even today, in an era marked by political polarization, Senna's legacy continues to transcend these divisions, making him one of the few figures that all Brazilians can celebrate.

As for the series itself, it is a masterpiece of storytelling and production. The cinematography, acting, and attention to detail set a new standard for Brazilian series, making it arguably the best ever produced in the country. It captures not just the man behind the wheel, but the cultural phenomenon that Senna became. While dramatization is inevitable in such works, it serves to highlight the emotional and historical resonance of Senna's journey, rather than detract from it.

Ultimately, the series is not meant to be a documentary but a tribute to a man who inspired millions. It succeeds in evoking the passion, dedication, and human connection that defined Ayrton Senna-a man whose story deserves to be remembered and celebrated.

It is quite obvious that the Senna - Da Silva family had a hand in this, and a very strict one at that. Senna is described as a saint. He's always kind and nice and puts up with everything that's done to him. That's boring and superficial. There are no conflicts except with Prost and Balestre.

The dialog is so incredibly flat, any daily soap is literature by comparison. I want to be first. He's the best. I'm the fastest. I want to win. But that's dangerous! But I want to win. But you've already won. But I want to win again.

What about Senna's women's stories? That would have had potential. Didn't he have any vices? People like that don't exist. But when his mother is involved in writing the script ...

His parents also come across as saints. Always understanding, always patient, kind, indulgent and noble. Yes, of course.

The action pictures are top-notch, though. Not completely groundbreaking, but very impressive. Especially the sound design was awesome.

For all that say "this is a one-sided story", do you also think Amadeus is a one-sided story? Is also Ford vs Ferrari? Maybe people don't relate because they saw this happen by other perspective, by another narrative. Now think, if your brother go into a fight, would you ever ask him why or would you just jump into it to protect him? That's how I feel now, i don't really care who was to blame back then, i know one thing, that boy watching races in the middle of the night, that boy chanting "Senna Senna", that boy crying because his hero died was also me. I was born few years before he became a F1 champion, and every sunday i was there to watch him racing his life away.

We brazilian watched one of ours becoming the greatest F1 driver of all time, carrying our flag, telling everyone he had all his people in that car, finishing that race in first place. I'm sorry for all those who don't know how it feels to hear out loud from that character named Galvão Bueno saying "AYRTON SENNA DO BRASIL, CAMPEÃO MUNDIAL DE FORMULA 1" ("Ayrton Senna of Brazil, Formula One world champion") and that song that played in the series, played in many of our weekends for some years, a shame it didn't last longer. I, as a little boy, wish it had endured for an eternity. I cried at the end like I cried in 94, my childhood hero has became a myth, who cares if they didn't tell the exact truth, i lived to see it, watching the series made me felt like I had felt back then, and the series brought back all those joyfull and sad emotions.

I call this show the FW16 of biopics because just like the car Senna was killed in, it was good but, umm...

OK, positives first. By and large, they got Senna's uncompromising nature right, especially by way of illustrating his team principals' exasperation. Attention to detail was brilliant; seeing MP4/4s race sent chills up my spine, but that shot of Senna alone in the briefing room at the end of Suzuka perfectly recreates the ITV shot from 1989.

I've seen another reviewer say that they story was one-sided. I agree, but then again, so what? The fans who followed the shenanigans in 1989 to 1993 would be familiar with the French Connection, if they didn't outright believe in its gospel truth. This is obviously a show for Senna fans, not Balestre apologists.

That said, there were a few things that the scriptwriters could have paid attention to:

1) Including Senna's personal relationships with people like Gerhard Berger and Josef Leberer would have gone a long way to humanising him;

2) They could have placed much more emphasis on the work Senna put into developing the car - he had a reputation for providing his mechanics with feedback until they begged to go home; and

3) Donnington 1993 - I can't believe they completely ignored the greatest single lap in all F1 history.