Senna on Netflix true story: What happened to Ayrton Senna?

The series also stars the likes of Kaya Scodelario and Steven Mackintosh, but for those looking to learn more about Ayrton Senna's life, just who was he and what happened to him?

Read on for everything you need to know about the true story behind Senna on Netflix.

Senna true story: Who was Ayrton Senna?

Ayrton Senna, originally da Silva, was a Brazilian racing driver, who was born in 1960 in São Paulo to wealthy parents Milton da Silva and Neide.

He was sporty and athletic from a young age, and is said to have grown an interest in cars at the age of four. He went on to compete in and win Go-Karting competitions, before moving to England in 1981 to start single-seater racing.

Senna won the Formula Ford championships that year, but subsequently announced his retirement and returned to Brazil with his wife. Soon after, however, he returned to England to take up another offer with a Formula Ford team, and started using his mother's maiden name, Senna, as his name, da Silva, was the most common Brazilian surname.

He went on join the Toleman Formula One team, and later raced for Lotus, McLaren and Williams. He won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles across his career, and 41 Grands Prix across 11 seasons.

At the time of his death, he held the record for most pole positions, at 65.

What happened to Ayrton Senna?

While competing in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Italy, Senna rounded a high-speed corner, but ran in a straight line off the track and hit a concrete retaining wall.

He was extracted from his car within two minutes of the crash, and was treated at the scene, before being airlifted to hospital. Later that day, it was announced that he had died.

The government of Brazil declared three days of national mourning in response, as Senna's death was considered a national tragedy. He was given a state funeral.

Members of the Williams team were investigated for their potential culpability in Senna's death, and were initially charged with manslaughter. The trial concluded with all defendants acquitted – a decision which was upheld by an appeals court two years later.

However, in 2007, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation ruled that Senna's death was caused by a steering column failure for which Patrick Head, the former Engineering Director of the Williams team, was found responsible. He was never arrested as the statute of limitation had passed.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live in 2013, Williams' Chief Designer Adrian Newey, who was one of the team members fully acquitted in the investigation, said: "What happened that day, what caused the accident, still haunts me... The steering column failure, was it the cause, or did it happen in the accident?"

"There is no doubt it was cracked. Equally, all the data, all the circuit cameras, the on-board camera from Michael Schumacher's car that was following, none of that appears to be consistent with a steering column failure."

What has Gabriel Leone said about playing Ayrton Senna?

Gabriel Leone, who plays Senna in the new Netflix drama, told RadioTimes.com in an exclusive interview that playing the iconic figure was "a huge challenge for me as an actor, because we know how people still remember Senna and have him as a reference and an example, not only for us Brazilians but for people worldwide".

In preparing to play the role, Leone said he "did the most I could" when it came to research.

"I read the most I could, I watched as much as I could, but it's crazy how much material about Senna exists - pictures, videos, and anything you can think," he explained. "So I remember, at some point I started getting a little bit anxious about it, because I wanted to read everything, to watch everything, but then I understood I wouldn't be able to even if I had the whole year to prepare for it."

Part of his research included watching the Asif Kapadia documentary, also called Senna.

He said of that film: "I love the documentary. I find it so emotional and so well done, and all the real footage they restored. For us, for the whole production, it was a huge reference."

Leone also said he spoke with Senna's family, including his sister and his nephew, who manage his Institute.

"They were really supportive," he explained. "They were really kind to me. I remember one of the things that really stuck with me in one of our conversations.

"I remember they were saying about Senna's eyes and essence and how of course, we know the driver, we remember the driver, sometimes aggressive and passionate. But also they were telling me the other side of him, the human being side of it."

Senna will stream on Netflix from Friday 29th November – sign up from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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