The extent to which I know anything about Formula One racing is that Michael Schumacher posed as The Stig on an episode of “Top Gear” and that he also kind of looks like my dad.
That said, I am not the intended audience for the documentary “Senna,” based on the life of the three-time F1 Champ Ayrton Senna. And yet it remains a touching portrait of a true athlete.
Ayrton Senna was considered the best Formula One driver of all time until he was killed in a crash in a 1994 race. He won the World Championship three times and was at the time the top ranked driver in the world. He has since lost several of his records, but after his fatal crash the safety requirements were overhauled to the point that no driver has been killed since.
Watching the film by Asif Kapadia, I perhaps only learned so much about the rules of racing, the technique or the fierce competition behind it, but I came away with an appreciation for the man. Continue reading “Senna”