Why is Ayrton Senna so important for Brazil?

This Friday, the 29th, the miniseries “Senna” debuts in the Netflix catalog, which, mixing fiction and reality, tells the story of the three-time Brazilian Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna da Silva — which became a true legend in Brazil!

The six episodes are directed by Vicente Amorim and Julia Rezendeand starring Gabriel Leonewhich interprets Ayrton Senna. The cast also includes: Alice Wagmann in the role of Lilianthe pilot’s first wife; Johannes Heinrichs as Niki Lauda; Hugo Bonemer in costumes Nelson Piquet; Matt Mella interpreting Alain Prost; and several other national and international names.

It is worth remembering that production begins in the year in which the death of Senna turns exactly 30 years old, remembering the driver’s legacy and reinforcing the image of a national hero that goes beyond the achievements he achieved in motor sport competitions.

Why is Ayrton Senna so important for Brazil?

This is because, Ayrton Sennapassionate about car racing since childhood, began participating in official Kart competitions at the age of 13, remaining that way until the age of 21, when he started racing in competitions in Europe. At 24, he started testing the limits of speed on Formula 1 tracks, and that’s when everything changed!

It turns out that for the next 10 years, Senna He won 65 pole positions, made 161 starts, scored more than 600 points, achieved 80 podiums and 41 victories, in addition to records that have not been broken to this day, such as the highest number of consecutive victories in the same GP, after all, he won in Monaco 5 times in a row, and the highest number of consecutive pole positions, being in first position eight times at the start of a car race.

The numbers and achievements made him one of the greatest drivers in the world, since, in addition to these, he won three world titles in 1988, 1990 and 1991, second only to Michael Schumacher (seven titles), Lewis Hamilton (seven), Juan Manuel Fragio (five), Sebastian Vettel (four) and Alain Prost (four), his biggest rival on the tracks, making him His talent was one of the main reasons why Brazilians loved him — and still love him — so much!

So much so that some of the pilot’s career achievements are unforgettable, as they could only be achieved by someone whose skills are beyond average, such as when he, after having problems with the gearbox, achieved his first victory in Brazil in 1991 using only the 6th gear. march!

At the time all this happened, one more fact Senna one of the biggest idols of Brazilian sport: the lack of titles in football! This is because, known as the country of football, Brazil faced a 24-year drought in the World Cup, given that, after the 1970 title, the players represented by the green and yellow shirt only lifted the cup again in 1994.

With the scarcity of results in field sports, motorsport became popular and the victories of Senna and Nelson Piquetwhich brought six achievements in a period of 11 years to the country, appeared as refreshments for a population lacking titles, and thus, were celebrated like never before.

It is also worth remembering that these achievements could have been even greater if an accident had not taken the pilot’s life, after all, Sennapassed away on May 1, 1994, after crashing into a concrete wall, on the Imola circuit, at the San Marino Grand Prix, in Italy, marking the history of motorsport and forever making him an icon in the sport. More than 1 million people took to the streets to say goodbye to the pilot.

The death of Senna became another of the achievements that meant that his image was not forgotten even three decades after his departureafter all, death is one of the most difficult facts in human life to assimilate, even more so when it arises from a tragedy and is broadcast live on television, whose coverage even closely followed the fight for the pilot’s life to be saved.

Finally, there are three more great factors immortalized Senna in the country’s memory. They are:

• Philanthropy: since the pilot was known for helping social causes, and with the Ayrton Senna Institute (maintained to this day), he helped improve the quality of public education in the country;

• The Senna brand: that among the achievements, he brought the character Senninha, who helps to transmit values ​​such as persistence, dedication and overcoming to children of various generations;

• Public tributes: since in addition to monuments, subway station, street, tunnel, highway and square, the driver’s name also serves as a reference for the Interlagos Kartódromo, which in 1996 was renamed to Ayrton Senna Kartódromo.