Ayrton Senna’s legacy is set to be celebrated worldwide with the release of Netflix’s new mini-series about his life later this month. However, no story about Senna would be complete without his greatest rival, Alain Prost. Matt Mella, the actor portraying the Frenchman, shared how he had to navigate tricky waters on set.
Mella recently spoke about what went through his mind while playing the role of Prost, a four-time world champion. As his fan, it was difficult for Mella to comprehend that Prost was the antagonist, as far as the story was concerned. “He serves a very specific purpose in this script,” he said.
Mella was the only person who was out there to defend Prost’s honor. “For seven months, I had to be the only Prost fan and I was like his biggest advocate which meant, like, basically, clashing on a daily basis.”
Of course, they were all in good jest, but even to avoid this friendly ‘hostility’, Mella had to learn how to stay quiet. “That was the biggest challenge…learning when to keep my mouth shut,” the actor added.
After Ayrton Senna, Formula 1 was never the same. Senna, a new limited series inspired by the life, career, and relationships of the greatest Brazilian F1 driver of all time, premieres later this year. pic.twitter.com/yJZhvQXKIF
— Netflix (@netflix) April 30, 2024
Prost and Senna were part of arguably F1’s most heated intra-team battle when they were at McLaren. Giving no space to one another, both would race with their elbows out, and also weren’t afraid to crash into each other if it meant it would benefit them.
The making of this series, also titled Senna, was first announced in 2020, and it has slowly garnered a lot of attention from the F1 community. Senna, who will be played by Gabriel Leone, is one of the most beloved figures in the sport’s history, who tragically lost his life 30 years ago during the San Marino GP at Imola.
The mini-series will be released on Netflix on 29th November and is expected to be a hit among the audience.
