How did Ayrton Senna die?

A new Netflix series dramatises the tragic life of Ayrton Senna, but how did the Formula One legend die? Read on for all the details.

The biographical drama runs for six episodes and the entire series was released onto the streaming service on Friday (November 29).

It sees Brazilian actor Gabriel Leone (Ferrari, Hidden Truths) play his countryman, while Kaya Scodelario portrays Laura, a fictional motorsports journalist who also speaks Portuguese and offers Senna a connection to home. Alice Wegmann, Pamela Tome and Camila Mardita co-star.

Directed by Vicente Amorim and Julia Rezende, the show was shot in Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay with an entirely Brazilian crew and charts Senna’s life from the beginning of his racing career in Formula Ford all the way up to the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Senna’s family aided with the production of the series, with his sister Vivane Senna saying: “It is very special to be able to announce that we will tell the story that only a few people know about him. The Senna family is committed in making this project something totally unique and unprecedented. And no one better than Netflix, that has a global reach, to be our partner.”

Senna’s life was also the subject of the acclaimed 2010 documentary film Senna by Asif Kapadia, which won two BAFTA Awards.

How did Ayrton Senna die?

Senna went into the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994 shaken after his friend Roland Ratzenberger had been killed during qualifying when his car suffered a front wing failure, sending him into a concrete wall at high speed. Senna’s countryman Rubens Barrichello had also suffered a serious crash during practice, but survived with minor injuries.

When the race began, there was a collision between two drivers that caused debris to scatter into the crowd, injuring several spectators. A safety car was deployed, which Senna criticised for being too slow, causing tyre temperatures to drop.

On the seventh lap, Senna was leading, but on a high-speed corner, his Williams car veered off the track and struck a concrete wall at approximately 145mph. The car suffered catastrophic damage and a piece of suspension inflicted fatal injuries to Senna’s skull.

Doctors responded immediately and airlifted Senna to hospital, but he was pronounced dead later that afternoon at the age of 34.

His death led the sport’s authority, the FIA, order an immediate overhaul of design regulations and circuit infrastructure to protect drivers. Senna’s native Brazil declared three days of national mourning.

To this day, he is remembered as one of the greatest racing drivers of all time.

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