Check Out the First Trailer for Netflix’s “Senna” Series

The first trailer for the Senna miniseries on Netflix is out, giving us our first look at Gabriel Leone in the title role.

Directed by Vicente Amorim and Julia Rezende, the six-episode series will trace the Brazilian driver's early life and rise to stardom, with the series filmed in real-world locations including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

And if the first trailer is any indication, Netflix isn't cutting any corners when it comes to scenes of racing action.

Netflix is careful not to show any more than it has to, with tightly cropped camera work focusing on the main character.

"The fictional series starts with the genesis of the three-time Formula 1 champion's motor racing career, when he moves to England to compete in Formula Ford, and until his tragic accident in Imola, Italy, during the San Marino Grand Prix," Netflix says.

More importantly, the series is being produced with support from the driver's family.

We'll also get to see some other F1 greats from the era—including Niki Lauda and Alain Prost—portrayed on screen, which should yield some interesting comparisons to their real selves. After all, we're not venturing that far back in time.

Johannes Heinrichs will play Niki Lauda, Hugo Bonemer will play Nelson Piquet, Matt Mella will play Alain Prost, and Patrick Kennedy will play McLaren team principal Ron Dennis, whom we briefly see in the trailer.

Reference footage of the racing itself should be plentiful for the filming crew and the special effects teams, but the series won't be all about recreating racing footage. There is quite an extensive cast, and we're betting that most of the names will be completely new to US viewers, even if you've already glimpsed Leone himself playing Alfonso de Portago in Ferrari (2023).

It will be interesting to see if the series will be able to attract viewers entirely new to F1, while also being able to satisfy fans who actually remember this point in time well.

Recreating F1 racing and the visuals of the early 1990s on screen with authenticity to cater to those who will know the details well, while also making the series interesting from a dramatic perspective to new audiences will be a tough balance to strike. So we don't envy the showrunners or the production crew in this regard. (Okay, we envy them just a little).

The series will be released in late 2024, but a more precise schedule has not been revealed just yet.

Will the Senna miniseries be able to reach a wider audience who will be new to F1, or is such a series purely for those who are already well-versed in the sport's history? Let us know what you think in the comments below.