I was lucky enough to get Senna on blu ray for Christmas and finally managed to get some time last night to watch it along with my 8 year old stepson. Baring in mind he is only 8 and a Ferrari fan, therefore he knows very little about F1 ;-), he had a couple of very good observations and comments of the late 80's/early 90's F1 era: 1.) "I wish that Prost driver had never been born" A little harsh on the surface but it translates from play ground English in to "Prost was a real ****" 2.) He was some what confused as to why the yellow helmet driver in the McLaren wasn't Hamilton, when I asked why he said it's because he wins a lot and has lots of crashes. Having said that, it's no great surprise, the other year he saw the Queen at a parade in Windsor and asked why she didn't have a beard, turns out he got the Queen and Jesus mixed up. Easily done. 3.) He quite like professor Xavier's dancing race car, but was annoyed to find out that the driver he wished had never been born won the WDC in it, and it stopped dancing when Senna/Hamilton (he wasn't sure who) got to drive it. 4.) He also noted that men see,ed hairy and played a lot of water sports in those days. 5.) He couldn't understand Ron Denis 6.) He thought Prost wasn't speaking English It was the extended version and unfortunately we ran out of time, so it's part 2 tonight. I'm looking forward to his version of the DVD commentary, and his non biased points of view which makes quite a change.
"1.) "I wish that Prost driver had never been born" A little harsh on the surface but it translates from play ground English in to "Prost was a real ****"" Just shows you how vulnerable childrens' minds are to propaganda.
I did think the 'Senna' dvd was a big middle finger up at Prost as he was very much portrayed in a bad light
No offense... but he was a bit of a door knob though... Maybe I'm still bitter from him crow-baring Mansell out of Williams... not to mention the Ferrari years.
I saw Senna for the first time yesterday, and as someone who's only started liking F1 3-4 years ago (not to mention not being born when any of the events in the film took place ) it was hugely insightful and interesting, and the emotion built up was tremendous, especially as I knew what was coming at Imola. When is showed his final lap I was terrified, it's such a horrible way to die, but at the same time he always knew the risks. But what really struck me was how his faith changed how he acted, how he put so much belief into God through his greatest talent, and on the morning of that day he opened a bible, the reading being 'The greatest gift God gives to you is himself'. Even though I never knew him, never saw him race, never even heard of him before a few years ago, I felt genuinely sad that the world lost this great man. I don't think there'll ever be anyone like him, yes Schumi etc. have won more titles, Vettel's almost certainly going to win more titles, but no-one can compare to Senna, he was quite literally one in a billion.
Senna was a great, that is for sure, and not only just a great but he was also a fantastic character in F1. I do feel in some ways that we do look back on him with an element of rose tint though. He was a phenomenal driver and a unique talent, but what we should remember is that he was as flawed as the next driver with a strong desire to win that in some ways conflicted him and on occasion brought about some questionable choices. The sport has never been the same since his death and his passing marked the end of an era. I do wish we'd have gotten to see him see out his career. As far as the Schumacher reference goes.... He's statistically the best driver in the history of the sport and I believe that people may view him in a different light had he have been the tragic hero. Thankfully he wasn't and hopefully will never be. The Senna movie is fantastic though, and if you have somehow managed to not see it... Go buy it.
