Netflix reveal actor who will play Senna in upcoming new series

2023 F1 season

Posted on

| Written by

Netflix has announced Brazilian actor Gabriel Leone will play the role of Ayrton Senna in its upcoming dramatisation of his life.

Leone, 29, was born the year before Senna died in a crash during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. He rose to fame for his role in Dom, a Brazilian television series produced by Amazon. The announcement of his casting was made on what would have been Senna’s 63rd birthday.

He is also due to appear in another upcoming motorsport film. Leone has been cast in Michael Mann’s film Ferrari as Alfonso de Portago, the first Spanish driver to finish on the podium in Formula 1. De Portago died along with his co-driver and 10 spectators when he crashed during the Mille Miglia sports car race in 1957.

Netflix, which also screens the popular F1 series Drive to Survive, announced its plans for a fictionalised drama about the life of Senna in 2020. Originally announced as an eight-part series which would appear in 2022, the production has been delayed and cut back to six episodes.

Senna made his F1 debut in 1984 and won the world championship with McLaren three times between 1988 and 1991. He moved to Williams in 1994 but was killed in his third appearance for the team.

Netflix said its Senna series “will give fans the chance to cross the finish line not with Senna, but with Beco or Becão, the driver’s affectionate nicknames among friends and family.

“More than just remembering remarkable moments in his career, the miniseries is an invitation to explore the personality and family relationships of the three-time F1 champion.”

Don't miss anything new from RaceFans

Follow RaceFans on social media:

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

2023 F1 season

Browse all 2023 F1 season articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

23 comments on “Netflix reveal actor who will play Senna in upcoming new series”

  1. They look nothing alike. Garcia Banal would have been better if they don’t need to resemble each other closely.

    1. Well, it’s Netflix. So nothing looks like real life.

      1. The movie will surely be close to real life than DTS I hope.

    2. Diego Luna too while we’re at it.

    3. Well that’s the “art” in films. How well can he act is the most important thing. Yes it can take some of the immersion away but “it’s not the looks its how good it will be.” I’m not familiar with him in any way but I will wait for the final product before shouting anything more because this being a netflix project.

      1. That’s why I named two amazing actors.

    4. Why isn’t it a woman?

    5. Jack (@jackisthestig)
      22nd March 2023, 5:47

      I’m rather embarrassed to say I used to watch The OC when I was much younger and there was an actor in that called Adam Brody who I thought looked the spitting image of Senna.

  2. I want a Alain Prost miniseries too

    1. I want a silent film/series about Kimi

      1. I want a remake of Mon Oncle with R Grosjean in the trench coat.

      2. Very funny, @qeki!!

      3. That’s hilarious but outside the F1 track and the media jamming a microphone in his face, Kimi is actually a jabber box.

    2. Despicable me, with Vasseur as Gru. The team can have blue overalls and be painted yellow.

  3. I couldn’t tell them apart.
    It is uncanny!

  4. Perhaps I’m just getting old, but can we not enjoy people as they were? I missed Fangio, Moss, Ascari, Bandini et al. They all have fascinating back stories, I want to learn about them. But Senna? Pretty much every lap he raced is recorded. He is obviously a hero, but do we need a live action remake?

    It just seems a bit pointless. If anyone wants to see what he means to us F1 fans, there’s a film, and plenty of onboards. It’s pretty much locked in. I don’t really see what they plan to add to it with this.

    1. I dont think they are planning to add to it, but rather just profit from it, milk it to the bone :D

    2. What a fantastic point @bernasaurus !!

  5. I can’t wait to not watch it.

  6. AllTheCoolNamesWereTaken
    22nd March 2023, 3:27

    If this ends up getting good reviews, I can see myself adding it to my list only to then never watch it.

    If it ends up getting middling or poor reviews, I still won’t watch it, but I won’t be adding it to my list, either.

    I wonder who does want to watch it. Who is this show being made for? (I guess the most probable answer is, “The people who will make money off it.”)

  7. playstation361
    26th March 2023, 18:25

    So much of internet TV which I hate actually. I like the old satellite thing.

Comments are closed.