Who was Ayrton Senna and how did he die? All about the race-car driver ahead of the Netflix series 

Senna will be released sometime in 2024. (Image via Netflix)
Senna will be released sometime in 2024. (Image via Netflix)

An upcoming Netflix series titled Senna looks into the life and unfortunate death of former F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna. Scheduled to be released in late 2024, the limited miniseries will primarily focus on the aspirations of the F1 racer, unveiling his remarkable wins and ultimately his unfortunate death on May 1, 1994, which occurred after a crash at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

During his illustrious career, Ayrton Senna won the F1 Driver’s Championship three times, in 1988, 1990, and 1991, and upon his breakthrough, he was regarded as one of the best young drivers to have graced the F1.

However, during the fateful race in San Marino, the 34-year-old ended up getting into a crash at lap 7, resulting in him crashing into the retaining wall at a speed of more than 200 km/h. This led to a painful death, as he lost around 90% of his overall blood volume within minutes and was declared dead around a couple of hours later.


How did Ayrton Senna die?

Senna, set to be released in 2024, will follow the rise of the eponymous Brazilian racer, who finished his career with 41 Grand Prix victories and 65 pole positions, as well as his fatal accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

Driving his Williams FW16 for McLaren, he wheeled off the Tamburello corner of the Monaco stadium and underwent a crash, which led to an untimely death. Ayrton ended up losing around 4.5 liters of blood within minutes of the crash, which ultimately resulted in him being pronounced dead.

One of the greatest racers of all time, Ayrton Senna, was merely 34 years old. By this time, he had already won the Grand Prix 41 times and was largely deemed to be on his way to creating a remarkable legacy that could only be rivaled by some of the sport’s true greats.

Ayrton Senna was a prodigy in every way and started off racing as a go-karter right from his childhood. He was already competing in full-blown go-karting races by the time he was 13 and moved to England in 1981 with the sole aim of making it to the F1.

He made his debut at the Formula Ford 1600 level and raced initially with the Van Diemen team. However, it was apparent rather quickly that Senna was instead made for the very top of the racing world, as he eventually moved up to Formula 3 and dominated.

It was around 1983 that Ayrton Senna first made his move up, and he was initially approached by multiple teams. He was given tryouts by the likes of Williams, McLaren, Brabham, Lotus, and Toleman. He raced for all four teams but had his best years with McLaren, for which he won all three of his racing titles.

However, Senna’s debut season in F1 came for Toleman, in which he produced multiple close finishes and ended up second at the Monaco Grand Prix. Senna moved to Lotus in 1985 and eventually tenured with McLaren from 1988 onwards. It was during this period that he ended up winning most of the races that he competed in.

Ayrton Senna, during this time, also developed a huge rivalry with Alain Prost, who was his teammate. It became the stuff of legends when, for the first time, two drivers from the same team competed so fiercely for the F1 championship. .

Senna’s death marked a tragic event that is still looked back upon by fans regularly, and the same is set to be true as a result of the upcoming Netflix series as well.

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