Senna–We’ll Never See His Equal
I can’t wait to see this movie. I have chicken skin from the trailer. For some reason I wasn’t into F1 very much during the Senna days–for one thing, there wasn’t much of a way to be a fan in the US. It wasn’t until Speedvision (Now, regrettably the NASCAR and hokey “reality” heavy Speed Channel) came along that I could get thoroughly hooked. But even as a non-fan I knew that Ayrton Senna was special. I’ve watched a lot of archival video of his most famous races, and they are simply amazing. His control of the challenging cars of that era was simply supernatural.
I’ve also read his book on driving and numerous books about his life. Clearly he was evolving as a public figure, but what fascinates me is how pure his passion for racing was. He had to win. The chances he took and the razor-edge he drove on all the time simply can’t be explained by any other motivator–he always had to win.
This movie is probably as close as any of us who did not directly observe his career will come to understanding this astonishing talent. Driving a F1 car at any level requires talent. Driving at remotely competitive speed can only be accomplished by a handful of human beings. Winning races in a F! car requires talent honed by decades of experience and opportunity. It’s something only the best of the best of the best can accomplish. Senna made it look inevitable that he would win. A unique talent in the truest sense of that term. I can’t wait to see this, and I can’t wait for the Formula One season to begin.