”Brasil needs education, food, health and a little bit of joy…now that joy is gone…”

It needs noted, before I start, that I’ve only been an F1/Motorsport fan for around four years or so now.  I was one of those ‘turn that crap off’ people when Col and I first got together.  It just so happened, that one Sunday afternoon my brother, Rowan and Col (husband) overruled me on TV selection and my love began.

Col says he never interacts with animals that are stronger than he is, he won’t, for example, go horse riding.  However, these racing drivers, drive in feather-light cars at speeds of up to 220 mph around a track – that twists, turns and inclines.  F1 cars are seen to be the fastest cars in the world and as much as the drivers are somewhat protected, it’s easy to forget that these guys dance with death every time they get behind the wheel of a car!

I’ve seen a number of crashes in my (so far) short F1 fan-ship.  In Canada 2007 we saw Robert Kubica in a huge impact, horrific accident.  In Hungary 2009, we saw Felipe Massa crash out as he got hit by a wayward spring and we’ve seen Mark Webber clip the rear end of Heikki Kovalainen in Valencia 2010 end up upside down and sliding down the track.  Thankfully, I’ve not seen anyone lose their life to this sport I love – and I would like it to stay that way.

When Col and Sam (friend) said they wanted to go and watch Senna, I thought I’d go along out of curiosity.  How would it be done? A modern dramatisation? A documentary? And, I also have to say, I was curious.

I’ve never seen him race, I didn’t know his story, all I knew was that he died, on track, during a race.  I knew that he was a three time World Champion, an F1 legend that is frequently referred to in weekly race commentary and that his nephew Bruno Senna is a promising young current F1 driver.

That’s pretty much it, as horrifying as it might sound to hard core F1 fans, but we all have to start somewhere, right?

When the movie started, I was almost apprehensive, subtitles, 30 year old footage and all about a man I didn’t know a lot about.

However, it wasn’t long before I was suckered in!

The film starts in circa 1978, in Senna’s karting days and goes on to tell the story of when he first went to Europe to race. Coming from a privileged background, many people assume that Senna bought his way in to F1, but, was seemingly not the case, he had raw talent, evident even in his earliest of races.

Senna earned his first World Championship points in his second race, his talent was obvious, as was his passion, determination and competitiveness, especially when it came to team mate Alain Prost during the McLaren days.

When asked, later in his F1 career, who his favourite driver to race against was, Senna replied, that, to answer that, he’d have to go back to his old go-karting days, back to a time where it was all about ‘pure racing’, no politics, his love for driving was clear.  For him, it was all about the driving.

Senna reminded me a little, of current driver Fernando Alonso, driven, head-strong and stubborn. Though, I’m sure the mere suggestion of that will get me spit-roasted by the critics!

I’m not sure how true to reality the portrayal of Alain Prost was during the film, as he seemed to be overly villanised (I guess most good stories need a villan though, right?) I suppose, since if the movie was about Prost, instead of Senna, the roles would be reversed and Senna would be the villain.  (Though, it was nice to see him pay respects at Senna’s funeral and he looked truly saddened by his death – perhaps they weren’t quite the ‘to the death’ enemies that the movie infers?)

‘On that final morning, he woke and opened his bible and read a text,’ explained Viviane ‘that he would receive the greatest gift of all which was God, himself.'”

From the get-go, you know what’s coming, Aryton Senna is ‘killed in action’, there’s no avoiding it, there’s no Hollywood happy ending, so you kind of sit with a sense of dread in your stomach, which grows the further in to the movie you get – I even sat with my head behind my hoody at certain points! LOL!

It’s a real life crash, there’s actual documented footage from the incident and the result was, someone died.

It’s heavy stuff.

When the accident actually happens on screen, it’s dealt with very… cautiously, there’s no re-runs (like previous accidents in the film) and as sad as it is, they don’t dwell on it too much.

What actually had me in tears was the final montage at his funeral. They flash back to Ayrton with individual members of his family, friends and colleagues and then they show you these people, mourning his death at his funeral.

My friend and I both cried, and cried. It was heartbreaking!

Following his death, his good friend and doctor Sid ‘Prof’ Watkins, vowed to overhaul the safety aspects surrounding Formula 1 and ensure no one else suffered the same fate as Senna and those before him.

Since Senna’s death and the changes made by Watkins, thankfully, there have been no more F1 drivers to lose their lives – though if you watch some of the accidents that happen regularly, you wonder how in the world some of the guys walk away from the wrecks with only bumps and bruises!

If you’re a fan of motorsport of any kind (not just F1), or, if you’re a fan of personal interest stories, I’d highly recommend you go and see this film, it’s a great film and we’ll undoubtedly be getting it on DVD (probably a stocking stuffer for the hubby for Christmas!)

This film tells the story of not only a remarkable F1 racing driver, but also of a remarkable man. He didn’t shy away from his ‘poor’ Brazilian roots, in fact, he used his fame to shine a light on his home country and tried to improve things in Brazil as best he could, especially for the children.

Before he died, he talked to his sister about setting up a foundation to do just that, putting together a framework for an organisation, which, after he died, she created the ‘Instituto Ayrton Senna‘ the aim of which is to “provide them with conditions and opportunities to promote their full development as human beings, citizens and future professionals.”

His legacy is clear, and his nephew, Bruno Senna, a talented F1 prospect, has picked up the family torch and is currently behind the wheel of a Lotus Renault (wearing a slightly modified version of his uncles helmet).

Ayrton said: “If you think I’m fast, just wait until you see my nephew Bruno” (F1 Official Website)

How he does it, I’m not really sure, he lost his uncle to F1, his father died in a motorcycling accident and he’s now racing in motorsport himself.  I guess when something is ‘in the blood’ you can’t really deny your calling.

Here’s to a true F1 hero, influencing the lives of many in his home country, as well as across the world at large.  His death changed the face of F1 safety and has prevented anyone else losing their lives in similar incidents.

I think it’s safe to say, he died as he lived, fast and on his own terms…I wonder what he’d think of today’s Formula 1…