The legacy of a LEGEND

GABRIEL LEONE on portraying late Formula One champion Ayrton Senna in a new biopic

SENNA FROM FRIDAY 29 NOVEMBER, NETFLIX DRAMA

This year is the 30th anniversary of the tragic death, aged 34, of Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix. To mark the milestone, new Netflix drama series Senna, with Gabriel Leone in the title role, charts the life and career of the charismatic and supremely gifted sports star.

The six-part biopic includes re-enactments of races Ayrton took part in, from cutting his teeth in a go-kart built by his father Milton (portrayed by Marco Ricca) to his rivalry with French driver Alain Prost (Matt Mella) en route to winning three Formula One championships with McLaren between 1988 and 1991. TV Times caught up with 31-year-old Brazilian actor Gabriel, who lines up alongside Steven Mackintosh as F1 team boss Frank Williams and Kaya Scodelario as a (fictional) motor-racing correspondent named Laura, for an exclusive chat…

Gabriel, how aware were you of Ayrton Senna and F1 growing up in Brazil?

I wasn’t even one when Senna died, but my family were huge fans, and I grew up in a country that was grieving his passing.

This isn’t the first time you’ve played a real-life racing driver, is it?

That’s right! I was in Italy getting ready to play a Spanish racing driver [aristocrat Alfonso de Portago] in the [2023] film Ferrari when I got the news that I had been cast as Senna. It was a huge coincidence.