I’ll say this right off the bat, I’m not a Formula 1 fan. Never have been. I don’t mind watching it every so often, but I just don’t really dig it. As such, Ayrton Senna was a bit of an abstract concept to me. I knew he was a legendary Formula 1 driver who had died in a crash in 1994, but beyond that, I knew very little about his life. I love cars and driving, however, and so when I saw the trailer for this documentary I knew I’d find it interesting if nothing else… But I wasn’t expecting it to be a moving, funny, human tragedy.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t in any cinemas near me when it was released a couple of weeks ago. Finally, I noticed it had turned up on the Cineworld website and that my local was going to be showing it for one night only. I turned up fully expecting to be shoved in a tiny screen with a handful of F1 geeks. I was pretty surprised then, when after buying my ticket I realised the queue for the side of the cinema I was going into was immense and that the entire queue was there to see SENNA. I dutifully queued and followed the herd into the biggest screen they’d got. It was pretty much full, and, because everyone there was there because they really wanted to watch the documentary, once it started, the place was absolutely silent apart from the odd rustle of popcorn and people laughing at various amusing bits.
The documentary follows Ayrton Senna through old footage and interviews with the people that knew him. The film starts with footage of him racing a kart at 18-ish, just as he’s making the move into F1. As the movie progresses, we follow his rivalry with Alain Prost, his arguments with FISA (F1′s governing body), his three world championship wins and we get to see deeper into his personal life. As we follow his journey, it quickly becomes apparent that not only was Senna an amazing driver, but he was a spiritual man, a family man, a generous man and a ruthless one when necessary.
The rivalry with Prost in particular is brilliant. Not knowing much about F1 it was all new to me, and skilful editing has been employed to really fill the story with tension. Prost seemingly deliberately ramming Senna to stop him from winning the championship; Senna limping into the pits with a broken car, having it repaired and catching up and winning in the remaining handful of laps; Prost immediately complaining and eventually Senna being disqualified was riveting. Watching the following year’s comeback even more so. Although it’s very clear that Senna was ultra-focussed on winning his races, it was equally clear that he was a thoroughly nice chap – revered in his native Brazil as a national hero, and rightfully so.
Inevitably, the film has to show the accident. By the time it came around, I almost didn’t want to watch it. I knew what was going to happen, I’ve seen the footage before, yet the previous 90 minutes had warmed me to the man so much, I didn’t want to watch the accident. Yet I couldn’t take my eyes away. The weekend of the 1994 San Marino GP was full of troubles; Senna had just moved to Williams and was struggling to get used to a car that had had innovative electronic aids stripped from it, leaving it unstable and difficult to drive – and he still managed to put it on pole position. While he was struggling with the cars balance and set-up, fellow Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello crashed during Friday practice, breaking his arm and nose. Unfortunately, during Saturday practice, Roland Ratzenberger crashed and sadly, he wasn’t as lucky, dying in hospital a few hours later. When the race actually started on the Sunday, there was another crash on the start line. Finally, just a lap or two after the restart, as Senna led the pack, something failed on his car and he crashed into an unprotected concrete barrier, causing the front wheel and a suspension component to be ripped off, hitting him in the head. He was airlifted to hospital but died a very short time later. The film deals with the accident very well, showing the bare minimum of it before showing the trackside resuscitation attempts and moving onto the Brazilian State funeral and the devastation of an entire nation. I know I wasn’t alone in having wetter eyes than usual.
I would recommend this film to almost anyone, whether they’re a fan of F1 or not. Yes, it is ultimately a sad tale but the journey reveals a warmth and depth of human spirit that is all too rare these days.