Alain Prost has described a new Netflix-produced miniseries about the life of Ayrton Senna as “complete bulls---” and said he may quit social media because of the abuse he still receives from fans of the Brazilian icon.
Prost, 70, won the Formula One world championship four times in a brilliant driving career. But it was his intense rivalry with Senna, both when they were team-mates at McLaren and subsequently in opposing teams when the Frenchman joined Ferrari and Williams, which he claims has “unfortunately” come to define his time in the sport.
Prost and Senna were team-mates at McLaren in 1988 and 1989 and had a fraught relationship. The pair famously made contact at the final chicane in Suzuka in 1989, putting them both out of the race. While Senna restarted, he was later disqualified for rejoining the track by cutting a chicane, handing the title to Prost.
The following year, with Prost now at Ferrari, the pair were involved in one of the most infamous collisions in F1 history, Senna deliberately crashing into the Frenchman at the first corner, taking him out of the race and securing the title for himself.
The 1990 Japanese Grand Prix may best be known for Prost/Senna crash on the first lap but it had so much more:
• Only podium for the Lamborghini V12 & Aguri Suzuki
• First podium for a Japanese driver
• The last race where no European driver finished the race on the podium pic.twitter.com/xqfPAu5npJ— Vincenzo Landino (@vincenzolandino) March 28, 2024
Their rivalry was explored in the 2010 film Senna, directed by Asif Kapadia. Prost was involved in the making of the film but later expressed frustration over how he was depicted in the final edit. And it is the same with a new six-part “biopic” Senna about his life, which has been made in collaboration with the driver’s family. With a budget of $170 million, it is the most expensive Brazilian television series in history.
Prost has claimed the Brazilian-made series had “completely fictionalised” their relationship and suggested he had been depicted as a “bad guy”.
“Bulls---, bulls---, complete bulls---, almost everything has been completely fictionalised,” Prost told Motorsport.com.
“I’ve only seen a few pictures and heard quite a lot of feedback. As with the film Senna, the first one, which I probably spent even more time on than my own documentary, and this biopic, it’s obvious that I won’t be satisfied, of course.
“Because there is always a good guy and a bad guy. I know a little bit about the story that is being told and yes, it is a biopic, it is fictionalised.
“But unfortunately, a few repetitive stories are inserted that are totally made up, just totally wrong.”
Prost added that he could leave social media given the grief it causes him.
“I can’t not think about Ayrton, fortunately or unfortunately,” the 70 year-old said. “For example, I’m considering turning off my Instagram, because I get messages every day, really every day without exception – from time to time there’s a hateful one, that can happen.
“My biggest fan base on social media is from Brazil, of all places, so I’m forced to think of him. Indirectly, I’ve been living around this story for 30 years, and it will probably stay that way for the rest of my life.”
