Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘Senna’ is a biographical drama about the life of F1 racer Ayrton Senna that follows the many ups and downs in the life of one of the most iconic figures in the world of racing. The series opens with a car crash, which it returns to in the final episode after it has given us a thorough look into the trajectory that Senna’s career took. It is a heartbreaking thing to witness, especially after we discover the many plans that Senna had for the future and the peak at which he departed the world. His death further establishes him as a legendary personality in Brazil and around the world. But there is one last thing that he leaves for his loved ones, even if unintentionally. SPOILERS AHEAD
Why Doesn’t Senna Back Down from the Race? How Does He Die?
The sport of motor racing is a dangerous one, and racers like Ayrton Senna know that. However, this doesn’t mean that the sport doesn’t require safety protocols to ensure that the drivers are kept as safe as possible when they are on the track. This is what Senna tries to tell the federation, especially after the series of accidents that happened on the track. It didn’t escape Senna’s notice, and that of other racers for that matter, that the number of accidents on the field had been increasing for the past few years. Then, Senna notices something off about the track while also not feeling at home with his new car at Williams, whom he has joined after cordially parting ways with McLaren.
The day before the racing event, a tragedy occurs when another racer, Roland Ratzenberger, gets into an accident that claims his life. This is after another accident that left a racer hospitalized. Senna becomes worried about the day of the race and shares his concern with almost everyone around him. He talks to Williams, wondering whether or not he and the other drivers should race that day. Later, he keeps this point in front of the proper authorities, but none of them considers Ratzenberger’s death critical enough to cancel or postpone the race.
At the end of the day, Senna is told that if he has reservations, he should back out of the race. He briefly considers it, especially when Niki Lauda tells him how he backed out of a race that he didn’t feel like participating in. They also talk about the formation of a driver’s union, which would focus solely on the well-being of the drivers because the higher-ups don’t seem too concerned with that. Despite his issues and his concerns over safety, Senna decides to race that day. He is further motivated to win because he aims to wave the flag on the podium in honor of Ratzenberger, hoping that his act will get the attention of the authorities.
Above all, Senna knows that the racer inside him will never back down from a challenge and a fight. When asked what he would do after he retired, he said that he had no plans of retiring. This shows how consumed he was with the very idea of racing. He was so focused on it that he never even considered a future outside of it, even though he must have known that it was inevitable that he would have to say goodbye to the sport one day. It is with the thought of winning that Senna takes to the track that day and takes a quick lead. However, the circumstances don’t work out for him, and his car crashes at a terrifying speed. He is rushed to the hospital, and later, the news of his death is broken to the world.
Does Laura Write the Article About Senna?
When Senna comes to England to start his racing career, a lot of people quickly take notice of him. One of them is a journalist named Laura Harrison. Over the years, even as Laura consistently follows Senna’s career and tells him that she is on his side, she also continues to write against him. Senna takes it all in good stride because he thinks that she is just doing her job. But then, following his championship win, she calls him a bad example, which is when Senna completely blocks her. After that article, Senna’s career takes more twists and turns, and as he continues to ignore her, Laura is forced to reconsider her approach towards him.
Eventually, Laura decides that it’s time for the world to see a different side of Senna, not just the narrative that has been spun around him, especially regarding his rivalry with Alain Prost. To know who Senna really is, one needs to know where he comes from. So, Laura asks Senna to talk to her about his childhood. By now, he has become disillusioned with her and the media, and he refuses to talk. Still, Laura keeps working on the article. Her desire to tell Senna’s story intensifies after Senna tragically dies in 1994 in a racing event, which he had hoped would be canceled following the accident that claimed the life of another driver, Roland Ratzenberger.
Like the rest of the world, Laura is completely taken aback by Senna’s death. She feels especially aggrieved about the fact that she couldn’t make it up to him with the article that was supposed to be a way for her to build up what she tore down with her previous article about him. As the entire racing community mourns, Senna is taken back home to Brazil, where the entire nation receives him with grief and heartbreak. Laura is among the crowd, crying like thousands of people around him who are shocked over the death of their beloved sportsperson.
In the end, writing the article becomes a necessity for Laura. It is a tribute to his life but also a celebration of it. Through it, the world would get a deeper insight into who Senna really was, and that’s the best that Laura could do for him. She also has the assurance that Senna gave her the green light to go forward with it. Not only does he answer the question she left for him the last time they met, but he also sends his childhood picture with his answer, indicating that he would be open to talking to her about her article. Unfortunately, he dies soon after, but Laura decides to keep her promise and delivers an article that gives the world a clearer picture of Ayrton Senna.
What is on the Tape Senna Leaves for Laura?
The night before Senna races for the final time, Laura shows up at his hotel. Senna had expressed his disgruntlement with her approach to writing stuff about him. But she reveals that she is not there to hound him into getting him to talk to her for her article. Instead, she is there to drop a package for him. In the package, she leaves him a tape in which she expects to record an answer to her question. She wants to know why he chose racing and what it means to him. Laura receives her answer, but it isn’t until after Senna dies that she decides what to do about the tape.
Because it is the last tape he recorded and it has him talking about something very intimate about himself and his life, she decides to hand it over to his family. It is with the hope that hearing from him would come as a source of comfort for them, especially considering how he talks about them in the tape. His parents and siblings play the tape a while after the funeral when they are emotionally ready to hear from him. What they hear gives them a sense of understanding about Senna, which is later also reflected in Laura’s article.
In the tape, Senna answers Laura’s question about why he loves racing. He talks about the time when his father taught him how to drive and how he made him his first kart to drive and race. He talks about racing being something that he was born with rather than something that he was attracted to later in his life. He talks about racing as if it’s the most natural thing in his life, like breathing. His words reveal his passion for the sport and how it is much more than a sport for him. It is a way of life.
In his talks about racing, Senna also speaks of the people who have been instrumental in getting him to the success he has experienced in his life. He starts with his family and the continuous support that he receives, no matter what. He also talks about the people he has worked with on and off the race track, emphasizing the fact that his success isn’t simply his own. It is teamwork, and that is the most important lesson he learned in his life. His last words on the tape are that he is never alone, and to hear that is a reassuring thing for his family, who miss him dearly.
Read More: Xuxa Meneghel: Where is Ayrton Senna’s Ex-Girlfriend Now?
