Legacy of 'transcendent' Senna finds another gear

There’s something about sport, and the global fandom the lead protagonists generate, which triggers a propensity to heroworship.

- KIERAN JACKSON

Add to that the lives of fallen heroes, particularly those taken too soon, and the deep-rooted desire to remember and reminisce are intertwined with anniversaries and depictions in modern drama. Whether it be Netflix, Prime or Apple TV, they’re all at it.

Yet as 2024 nears its conclusion, there really can be no doubting the omnipresent legacy Brazilian idol Ayrton Senna left on the world.

A few weeks back, Lewis Hamilton drove the 1990 MP5/5B McLaren of his hero in the rain at Interlagos, to the glee of thousands of Brazilians in the grandstands. In May, a commemoration event took place at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (otherwise known as Imola), 30 years to the day since Senna’s death. There’s even a bronze statue of the Brazilian, slumped on a racing tyre, in Walbrzych, Poland, which seems a bit random even for Senna.

But this latest tribute – a bio-drama titled Senna, as was the 2010 Bafta-winning documentary film, streaming on Netflix on Friday – poignantly starts right at the very end. The new six-part series opens with a scene we have probably all seen before.

Fit with accurate advertising boards and an electric in-cockpit vantage point, it depicts Senna (only this time in fictional footage) and his final moments: the Brazilian leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, on lap seven, pounding towards Tamburello corner.