Last night I watched SENNA, the movie/documentary on Ayrton Senna’s rise to fame. It was an incredible movie that focused on his rivalry with Alain Prost, the politics in Formula 1, his personal life and finally his death. Of course I knew who Ayrton Senna was but I never knew how talented he truly was until I watched this movie. Formula 1 in the 80s and 90s compared to Formula 1 today is a completely different ballgame with a lot more excitement and a lot more competition. There’s a lot of great footage of Senna and I know this will sound strange but even though you know how the movie will end, you will still spend the whole time hoping you’re wrong.
The movie is around 2 hours and 40 minutes long but I’m hoping they will release an even longer extended version of the movie in the future since I felt they sped through some of the years so they could keep the movie under 3 hours. I highly highly recommend Formula 1 fans to watch this movie. It’s mostly in English but there are a lot of scenes which are subtitled as well. [YouTube]
Did you watch it in Lebanon ?? if not does anyone knows when they will release it in Lebanon ?? I really want to watch that documentary 😉
No I downloaded the movie. Not sure if it would get released in Lebanon since it’s a documentary more than a movie.
I was looking for this since it was showed at the Sundance Film Festival….can you point me to the source from where you downloaded the movie
You Downloaded it? share the link now or it didn’t happen….
anyway haven’t found any info on when and if it will be released in Lebanon….
i will do a torrents search now…i have to…
I’m a huge Senna Fan…and can’t wait to see that Mov/Doc
thanks for the tip Mark
I got it from torrentleech with is a private tracker, i think it should be available elsewhere though.
so you stole the movie?! Torrents?!?
Formula1 was more competitive and way more dangerous back then. Prost & Senna battles would have got them both disqualified if they had occurred recently. I don’t know which way I like it better, but Senna’s death surely triggered that wave of change in F1 standards.
There’s one thing that pisses me of about Senna lovers though is that they think Schumacher started winning when Senna died, and that Schumacher was a dirty driver during his years. If there’s anything Schumacher inherited from the Senna and Prost years, it was the arrogance and dirty moves that they pulled on each others to win championships.
The moves that prost and senna were pulling on each other are nothing compared to the moves shumacher pulled over the years.
Mark,
They intentionally crashed each others to win championships
Schumacher got penalized for presumingly and not so clearly attempting to do so with villeneuve
Najib, Shumacher deliberately crashed into Villeneuve and got shafted as a result, two year before he pulled the same move on Hill and it worked.
Senna and Prost have both done the same thing, and any competitive driver would consider doing the same.
in 06, Schumi parked his car sideways at rascasse in Monaco to impede traffic. although i still doubt that, his failure to fight the penalty was proof in his shaded motives…
all competitive drivers cheat or at least attempt it, Alonso’s 2008 Singapore win was a case in point… If it’s not the driver than the team… it’s always been the case in F1…
but please don’t defend Schumi, he was great when his car was at the top, the greatest statistically in fact, but when it comes to raw skill, personality and the unhinged desire to win whatever the cost Senna is and always will be the best of the best…even Schumacher would attest to that as both have traded paint and carbon fiber shards through the years.
I love Senna, and liked what Schumi did at Ferrari, but wheel to wheel same car, same conditions, Senna would have showed Schumi the door every time… proof of it is Schumi’s desperation last year, the move he pulled on Barrichelo (forgot which race) was homicidal…
Early in 1994, Schumacher had the superior car, Williams were in a transition still with the New Renault engines, but has Senna Lived, you can bet your hard earned cash that he would have most possibly won in 95, definitely in 96 and 97 making him a 6 time champion… we can dream, but the reality is that with just 3 titles, he is considered the best by even those that won 4-5 and 7 titles…and not because he’s dead, it’s because he was indeed the best…
but above all, if you want to know the truth about Senna, talk to any Brazilian, and he will simply say: “Sunday’s will never be the same without him” he was a true character…
btw, downloading the Movie off Kickasstorrents, through VUZE….yeah I’m ‘borrowing it’ but i can’t find info that it will be released in Lebanon and i can’t wait any longer…
but it’s a 2.9gb file will take some time, i hope they don’t release it here before it’s done…
Ronman,
Prost crashed into Senna to secure his championship at one time. You think that was not deliberate? Yet he went to win it instead of being penalized.
As far as who is the best driver, I even think Prost was better than Senna but Senna’s death made him the legend he is today. Schumacher is the greatest F1 driver to ever exist by all means and he never denied learning from greats such as Senna or Prost (Remember he even cried when breaking Senna’s record), but that doesnt mean he cannot become better than them.
Winning championships back at Senna and Prost times was much easier than during Schumacher years yet he did win it and in what style!
I repeat that if Senna would have lived, he would not have become as famous as he currently is.
I agree with your last bit, anyone who dies at the peak will be forever remembered with an Aura of greatness… that goes for many people…
BUT! “Winning championships back at Senna and Prost times was much easier than during Schumacher years yet he did win it and in what style!”
that statement is so wrong on so many levels… Senna And Prost were driving the same machinery at their peak, they were dominating the field with similar cars for the same team… that is the ultimate in hardcore competition.
After Williams and Mclaren Dropped in competitiveness in 99, Schumacher and Ferrari walked with the titles in 99 (ferrari) 2000-2001-2002-2003-2004-(are you boreed yet?) up until 05 and Alonso no one stood a chance and Barrichelo was playing second fiddle…
you also have to remember that in the days of Prost and Senna cars were still manual…it’s just a dream to any F1 fan to see the Professor and Senna go at it with their ability of the time, with modern easier technology and down-force. Imagine the effort that took Senna to secure Pole in Monaco in 88 with one hand on the wheel the other on the shifter the Whole Lap…he killed Prost’s time by over 1 full second…
another clear indicator of Senna’s superiority behind the wheel was the 1984 monaco race in which, in the rain, he was catching the leading Prost at over 1.5 seconds a lap or more, Prost was so powerless that he was begging them to stop the race before he caught up with him… Prost was driving for the championship winning team, Senna? he was driving a Toleman, the slowest car out there…
so your argument that it was easier to win in the 80s and early 90s is wrong, as cars back then were more evenly matched, with much less aero dynamic grip than cars after 94-95
Schumi had it sort of easy once Ferrari hit the spot
Najib, Prost’s deliberate crash into Senna, and Senna reciprocating the next year is a mater of fact and legend… however after that death filled weekend at Imola in 94, the FIA was taking crashes very seriously and thus penalized Schumi for his move on Villeneuve, although he had gotten away with it when he took the title and Damon Hill out in 95 at Adelaide…
Ronman,
While there was more talent involved back at Senna and Prost years, the number of competing drivers and teams was much less than during the Schumacher years.
Schumacher had to suffer for several years in Ferrari before being able to get the best out of Ferrari and if it wasnt for him, Ferrari would have still sucked. He worked with them year after year to make the car better and what distinguished Schumi from other drivers was that he understood his car better than anyone else and knew how to set it up to make it faster. No other driver was able to do so and the proof is Alonso, who s very talented yet cannot produce the best out of his car.
Speaking of manual, that demanded more effort but also gave better chances of closing gaps and overtaking easily. This Monaco lap u speak of is debatable as I’ve searched about it and could not find videos to see what really happened during that race.
You keep forgetting the tyres factor which makes people go 2 seconds faster these days, so it could have been as simple as that when Senna was beating Prost by that much.
I repeat, Senna was brilliant, he was very fast but he was not consistent, had lots of collisions with other drivers and was just all over the place. He would have been remembered as a great driver, but so far Schumacher is the greatest and by far.
I’m not saying Shumi was not one of the greatest (i place him as 2nd in the all time ranking and so do the majority of the older F1 fans)…when you watch the documentary, you will know that senna was one of the first driver to immerse himself with a team and help actively develop a winning car much like Schumi did later.
as for that Monaco Lap which disappeared form you tube (you can blame Bernie for that) it will be featured in the documentary. (check out this beautiful tribute from Top Gear http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNmqn3heGgE)
On that lap, Senna is using the same car as Prost, same tires, similar set up, same conditions, and he was racing the clock…
as for tires, I’m not forgetting, in the 80s, Good year supplied one compound not like the recent and current multiple compound system, which i think sucks and is a marketing ploy…
by the way Schumi and Ferrari suffered a lot indeed, but if it wasn’t for his associations with Rory Byrne, Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, and the perfection that this team embodied, Ferrari would probably still be racing misfiring V12s and firing their drivers and managers every-time a wheel fell off (the old Spaghetti management system) if i can say…
In any case, find this interesting site, http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2011/02/14/ayrton-senna-voted-champion-of-champions-by-f1-fanatic-readers/
I’ve been a member for over 4 years now, the ultimate one stop blog for F1, and F1 fanatics…the link takes you to the poll they did in the off season, and although the site is voted predominantly by Hamilton fans, Senna is the champion of champion with Schumi in a very honorable second.
Had he lived, we wouldn’t be having this exciting discussion…
hey been looking for F1 weekend watching buddies, anyone interested?
Well I’ve been watching F1 for a long time now and I consider Schumi as the No1 driver. We can go on debating about this forever I know but I guess Ayrton’s death is what keeps us from matching the two.
Since Schumi’s departure, I’ve looked up at Vettel as this guy has the talent and drive and most importantly the consistency. He’s been clumsy the past 2 years but what he did at the end of last year was exceptional and it seems that he’s on his way to make new records. Am guessing few years from now we ll be arguing whether Schumi or Vettel are better 🙂
I was never a fan of watching F1 with friends by the way. I always enjoyed watching it alone or with my brothers but I wouldn’t mind watching it on a Sunday with a bunch of friends over a beer.
Btw, don’t forget that English hate the Germans so I wouldn’t be surprised if Schumi turns second.
For the past 5 years it’s been me, my laptop with Live timing and several team feeds and the TV…preferably TF1 or BBC. I wouldn’t mind getting together for a beer at a bar or something for a change, to make the dull moments go by quicker, as I’m falling asleep by myself… oh my daughter has been joining me since last season, but her calling out car…car….car…all the time is cute as she’s only 19 month old LOL….but she’s not very receptive when i start explaining strategy, neither is my wife (brazilian) when she asks, why is Brunno Senna not in the standings (all the races), or how come Alonso Overtook Massa (German GP 2010) LOL…
anyway Vettel looks in good form, but i just hate the finger of his, it’s as crass as Shumi’s jump… i dislike Hamilton but the kid is a great driver, and prefer Button in the McMerc camp….
I despise Alonso on a molecular level, the guy is a born cheat, he always weasels his way out of cheats by either selling off his team or just playing dumb…i call him Teflonso as shit just doesn’t seem to stick on him…
Perez is a rookie worth keeping an eye on…for the near future. Vettel has the chance and time to outdo Schumi…
it should be an exciting season…
Oh yeah and Banzai KAMUMBAYASHI… that guy is great..you know who I’m talking about
Ronman,
By the way in that Top Gear video, it shows how dirty Senna was by throwing out Prost on the start to win the championship and the worst part is when he tries to justify himself. Had Schumacher been allowed to do so, he would have won 10 championships not just 7.
yeah i know Najib, I’m not saying the guy is a racing saint… but i also mentioned before why Shumi was sanctioned when he did the same thing… intentional crashes have become a crime in F1 after 94…the F1 community was not prepared to loose another member for foolish egotistical battles…and sadly for Schumi he was caught out…
as for Senna taking out Prost, it was exactly a year before that Prost took him out for the title, fate i guess??? those were tough times for the two, on the knife edge all the time. remember in 88, both of them combined won 15 out of 16 races for McLaren, the most perfect of seasons…the MP4-4 was an epic car
the Top gear tribute shows both his sides…the saint, and the racing devil…he was great at both roles…
Can’t believe Jeremy Clarkson is a Villeneuve fan. This guy is a sore loser and the worst champion I’ve seen. The only time he won was when his car was much superior to all others then it was downhill.
He’s a Gille Villeneuve fan (not anymore after studying Senna for the tribute), Jacques’ father dude. That guy is a legend in his own right…he died a Zolder/Belgium in a terrible crash with Ferrari…
guys, Montoya was the best F1 driver ever!
Oh Deer… (Mark; if you’re a true Montoya fan, you will know what I’m insinuating here without watching the video) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_7_aJnQ1Uk
you gotta love his sense of humor
lol you’ve got an amazing memory
Roman my bad Gilles was indeed a great driver.
Didn t he crash on the famous eau rouge?
Well up until 2005 that’s what i thought as well, Eau Rouge…until i lost some cash on a bet while arguing about the fact with someone else… he actually died at Zolder circuit during the then Belgian GP of 82… i think some of us Lebanese F1 fans think it’s Eau Rouge because some smarty pants TV F1 commentator back then used to say that’s where he died but that Smarty Pants TV presenter with an annoying noise and irritating tone of voice was wrong, and i want my money back!
ooh i can write a book about how annoying and full of wrong information this Smarty Pants TV presenter actually is…
Ronman,
Dont get me started as well about LBC F1 commentators … I tried watching it last week but quickly changed it back.
I think am gonna write a post about it even.
Francois is a friend and he admits he is out of his league… LBC want to transmit F1, but don’t want to back it up with a proper budget and team, i offered my services to lend him more credibility in the background info but alas, according to him he sits in a small cubicle/studio with The TF1 feed in one ear to get as much background info as possible… there are better ways… but my Mr smarty pants TV presenter used to do it in the older days…and he doesn’t have as much integrity as Francois…
Are you talking about Nadim Mhanna? the guy who once thought the distance limits sometimes put before a hard turn are speed limits??
As for Francois, tell him that when a car brakes heavily before a turn and a white smoke comes out, there’s nothing wrong with the tyre, that’s called late braking.
Oh and during qualifying, during Q1 and Q2 people outside the qualifying positions are timed against the last time, not the first one cause he thought Sutil was competing with Vettel last time while he was some 2 seconds away from him.
i can’t say who Mr Smarty pants Tv presenter is… i leave it to you to guess… as for me telling Francois, i will have a chat with him about that… but you need someone that knows the process, Francois is too busy on multitude of projects to do it completely right, he needs a hand, sadely LBC are not willing to invest…
Nadim Mhanna once said that the Fueling rig F1 use has the same coupling system as those fighter jets that fly in Space…i repeat Space… the word Sky “Jaw” was not in his dictionary…that’s one of the priceless mistakes along with so many others…I wish someone has all those F1 coverages recorded and comes out with a You Tube flick with them all compounded… it would take forever…Nadim would make a great post subject, with a title, I the Self Proclaimed Jeremy Clarkson of the Middle East… Yeah and I’m James May of the Orient…
I don’t blame Francois that much but I would not take the job if I were him. It is too embarrassing to say the least plus he could learn a few things from TF1 and repeat them, no need to come up with his own comments.
Yeah i would never take a job that I’m not equipped for, especially one that requires knowledge and a healthy background.
but here in lies the issue, media figures should know, they are a source in their own right, and people that listen to them know that… it’s up to the media people to handle this responsibility with care…and sadly most people take it for granted in the business… when i made my way and met some of the known sports media people in the country, i was shocked when i found out how little the knew for their position…by the words of one of them…we Don’t prepare man hihihi… we wing it live on TV….
Najib…i am late to the conversation but you should watch donington 1993…. Prost and schumi was in the race, Senna is the absolute master…nobody can match his talent or his determination