• Netflix's six-episode series "Senna" is a fictional retelling of F1 driver Ayrton Senna's life.
• The show follows his rise to fame and his death at the San Marino GP in 1994.
• F1 reporter Laura Harrison isn't based on a real person, but she serves a key purpose.

Famed Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna's life and career is the subject of Netflix's latest limited series "Senna."

The six-episode scripted show, starring Gabriel Leone as the titular character, chronicles Senna's early years in karting, his triumphs as a three-time Formula 1 world champion, and his fatal crash at the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.

The series includes many of the notable people in Senna's life, like his family members, his rivals, and key Formula 1 figures. However, the show also introduces a fictional character, a journalist named Laura Harrison (Kaya Scodelario).

Here's how she fits into the story.

Laura Harrison is a reporter who meets Ayrton Senna during his days racing in Formula Ford

When Senna moves from Brazil to England to compete in Formula Ford, he catches the attention of Laura Harrison, a reporter for the Norfolk Express.

She first interviews Senna after he wins his first Formula Ford race and tells him that he's talented, but he seems to have a more aggressive driving style than other drivers. Harrison's story about Senna's rivalry with Enrique Mansilla subsequently makes the front page of the Norfolk Express.

As Senna progresses in motorsport, Harrison also makes moves in her career. By the time Senna reaches Formula 3, Harrison has become a reporter at Autosport, a real magazine focused on motorsport news.

The show doesn't spend much time on her backstory, aside from a quick comment about being fluent in Portuguese because her mom is Brazilian and a later mention that she has a British husband. She and her husband have a daughter named Claire, but by episode three, the pair have divorced, and Harrison juggles her job as a reporter with her co-parenting duties.

She and Senna continue to run into each other when Senna embarks on his career as a Formula 1 driver.

Their dynamic remains purely professional, with Laura observing the behind-the-scenes drama from the sidelines, getting exclusive scoops, and writing unbiased cover stories for Autosport. After Harrison writes one story in which Senna's rival and McLaren teammate Alain Prost calls the Brazilian driver a "traitor," Senna distances himself from her.

Laura Harrison isn't based on any real-life people that Senna knew

Years after publishing the story, Harrison starts working on a piece about Senna's career.

The weekend of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, Harrison gives Senna a tape recording with one final question for her article: "Thirty years after getting your first go-kart from your dad, 10 years in Formula 1, three world championships, why do you keep racing?

Senna records his response to Harrison and has the tape recorder sent back to her. Then he dies during a crash that occurs on the track during the Imola GP.

After his death, Senna's parents, Milton da Silva and Neyde Senna, listen to his tape recording, where he explains his passion for the sport and why he never stopped racing.

Although there's no real-life equivalent of Harrison, she serves as an amalgamation of the reporters and journalists who followed Senna's superstardom.

Within the Netflix series' narrative, Harrison represents the media's role in Senna's career and helps to neatly tie up the show in a way that pays homage to his achievements.

All episodes of "Senna" are streaming on Netflix.

• F1 driver Ayrton Senna died after a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy on May 1, 1994.
• Senna's crash was one of two fatal accidents that occurred that weekend on the track.
• After Senna's death, better safety measures were established.

Netflix's new limited series "Senna" dramatizes the life of late Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna, chronicling his achievements as a three-time world champion and his fatal crash in 1994.

The six-episode scripted series, starring Gabriel Leone as the titular character, shows the Brazilian driver's humble beginnings in karting, his move to Europe to compete in Formula Ford, and the highs and lows of his 10 years in Formula 1.

But Senna's death, the result of a crash at the San Marino Grand Prix on May 1, 1994, looms over the series. The final episode of "Senna" recounts that ill-fated weekend in Imola, Italy.

Here's what happened leading up to Senna's crash and how his death at 34 years old changed the course of F1.

Senna voiced concerns about his car's performance prior to race day

Senna made his F1 debut with Toleman in 1984 and moved to Lotus the following year. After his switch to McLaren in 1988, Senna saw the most success in his career, winning the world championship in 1988, 1990, and 1991.

For the 1994 season, Senna jumped to Williams, a team that performed well the prior year. He hoped to score wins with the team, but the F1 cars underwent massive changes after electronic aids were banned. These electronic features were an advantage that helped the drivers on the circuits. Without them, there was no traction control, special brakes, or electronic suspension.

In archival interview footage featured in the 2010 documentary "Senna: No Fear, No Limits, No Equal," Senna said that the car felt "immediately less stable without the electronic suspension" and harder to drive, leading to spinning out and going off-track.

By the time of the San Marino GP, the third race of the 1994 season, the handling of the car was still poor and Senna was uncomfortable driving it.

In footage taken during the practice session on Friday, April 29, 1994, Senna was seen telling the Williams team about issues with the car's balance.

On the weekend of the San Marino GP, 2 drivers died in 2 days: Roland Ratzenberger and Senna

On Friday, Jordan driver Rubens Barrichello crashed and suffered non-fatal injuries. Then, during the qualifying session on Saturday, Simtek driver Roland Ratzenberger experienced an even more severe crash and died from injuries that took place on the circuit.

Ratzenberger's death shook up Senna. Still, he decided to participate in the race on Sunday.

"Ayrton got very, very upset and cried a bit," F1 doctor Sid Watkins said in the 2010 documentary. "And that's when I said to him, 'You know, Ayrton, you've been three times world champion. You're the fastest man in the world.' And he liked fishing, so I said, 'Why don't you quit? And I'll quit and we'll just go fishing?'"

In Watkins' book "Life at the Limit," the doctor said that Senna's final words to him during that conversation were: "Sid, there are certain things over which we have no control. I cannot quit, I have to go on."

While on lap seven of 58, Senna's FW16 crashed at the Tamburello corner. The reason for the incident remains unknown, but Senna's car crashed at an angle where the suspension shaft hit his helmet.

Senna was airlifted to Bologna's Maggiore Hospital and an official announcement about his death was made by the hospital.

However, Watkins believed that Senna died on the Imola circuit, due to the impact of the crash.

"We got him out of the cockpit, got his helmet off, and got an airway into him," Watkins recalled in the documentary. "And I saw from his neurological signs that it was going to be a fatal head injury. And then he sighed, and his body relaxed, and that was the moment — I'm not religious — that I thought his spirit had departed."

Better F1 safety protocols were enacted following Senna's death

Senna's body was transported back to São Paulo. Three days of national mourning took place and thousands of people lined the streets of Brazil to honor the F1 driver.

Senna's funeral was attended by his parents, Milton da Silva and Neyde Senna; his sister, Viviane Senna; his ex-girlfriend and Brazilian TV host, Xuxa; his then-girlfriend and model, Adriane Galisteu; and his F1 rival, Alain Prost, who was a pallbearer.

Before his crash, Senna had spoken to Prost about reviving the Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) out of concern for the drivers' safety. After Senna's death, the GPDA was reestablished. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) also appointed Watson to improve safety standards and cars received new features designed with driver safety in mind.

There were no fatalities at F1 races for 21 years, until French driver Jules Bianchi's death in 2015.

Senna is considered to be one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, and his legacy extends beyond motorsport.

The Ayrton Senna Institute was founded by his family in 1994. It strives to change the lives of children through education. According to a postscript at the end of "Senna," the organization has helped more than 36 million youths in Brazil.

This year, in honor of the 30th anniversary of Senna's death, seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who became an honorary citizen of Brazil in 2022, drove Senna's 1990 championship-winning McLaren MP4/5B prior to the Brazilian Grand Prix on November 3. Hamilton called the moment "the greatest honor of my career."

All episodes of "Senna" are streaming on Netflix.

• Netflix's drama series "Senna" follows the Formula 1 driver's career and 1994 death.
• The show touches on his relationship with his ex-wife, Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza, and girlfriend, Adriane Galisteu.
• Senna didn't have any kids, but he was dating Galisteu at the time of his death.

Netflix's new limited series "Senna" gives the Hollywood treatment to late Formula 1 star Ayrton Senna's professional career and personal life.

The six-episode scripted series, starring Gabriel Leone as the titular character, retells many of the most well-known parts of Senna's racing career, from his beginning in karting to his eventual success in Formula 1 as a three-time world champion. It also touches on the Brazilian driver's death at 34 years old at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix after he crashed into a concrete wall.

"Senna" also delves into the driver's romantic relationships. Senna never had kids, but he had three serious relationships throughout his life: Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza, his first wife; Xuxa Meneghel, a Brazilian TV host; and Adriane Galisteu, a Brazilian actor, TV host, and model, who was also his girlfriend at the time of his death.

Here's what to know about his relationships with de Vasconcelos Souza and Galisteu.

Senna was briefly married to Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza, his childhood friend

In the Netflix series, Senna and his girlfriend Lilian (Alice Wegmann) move from Brazil to Norfolk, England, so he can compete in Formula Ford, typically an entry-level race for Formula 1 drivers.

As Senna progresses as a driver, she struggles to adapt to living in England. When Senna breaks his promise and pursues racing beyond the year he agreed to, he and Lilian divorce.

Their relationship played out similarly in real life.

According to Tom Rubython's 2004 biography "The Life of Senna," Lilian de Vasconcelos Souza (alternatively spelled Liliane Vasconcelos Souza) was from a "wealthy Brazilian family."

She and Senna were childhood friends who married in February 1981 in São Paulo shortly before moving to England.

As depicted in the Netflix drama, de Vasconcelos Souza didn't have a life of her own in the UK. She mainly attended Senna's races and supported his career.

When Senna decided to drive in England for the 1982 season, de Vasconcelos Souza told him their marriage would end. The pair quietly divorced, and she stayed out of the spotlight.

In a 2010 interview with Brazilian news site G1, de Vasconcellos Souza, who was then working as a designer, reflected on her relationship with Senna and her omission from Asif Kapadia's documentary "Senna: No Fear, No Limits, No Equal."

She said it was "a very well-made film," but she was "bothered" that she wasn't included in it given her relationship with Senna. De Vasconcellos Souza also said she always knew she "was his second passion" after racing.

Additionally, De Vasconcellos Souza told G1 that she and Senna's different views of having kids in the future caused their split.

She said she became unintentionally pregnant with Senna's child, and he told her the plan would be for her to raise the baby in Brazil while he stayed in Europe to continue his racing career. De Vasconcellos Souza said she miscarried three days later.

"At that moment, something was cut off inside me because his goal was to enter Formula 1, and mine was to have a husband that I loved and to start a family," she said.

After her divorce from Senna, she remarried and had a son in 1984. De Vasconcellos Souza was in her third marriage when she heard about Senna's death on TV. She didn't attend Senna's wake or funeral but stopped by the cemetery where he was buried. She also visited his mom, Neyde Senna, and stopped by his São Paulo home.

Senna was in a relationship with Brazilian model and actor Adriane Galisteu at the time of his death

The final two episodes of "Senna" depict Senna's relationship with Galisteu. In the show, they properly meet when Senna celebrates his Brazilian Grand Prix victory at a club.

In the last episode, she calls Senna, scared and concerned, after hearing about Simtek driver Roland Ratzenberger's fatal crash on the Imola track during qualifying. When Senna dies from a crash into a concrete wall the next day during the race, she's seen watching the tragedy unfold on TV.

In real life, Galisteu and Senna dated from 1993 until his death at the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy.

Galisteu met Senna when she worked as a hospitality hostess for the oil company Shell at the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix. Although they crossed paths in the hospitality suite during the race weekend, they didn't have their first interaction until Senna's Brazilian GP celebration at Limelight Club.

During their relationship, they traveled the world together, visiting Monaco, Hungary, and other destinations where the F1 races occurred.

According to Rubython's biography, Senna planned to stay in Portugal with Galisteu for five months during the European race season in 1994 and not return to Brazil during that time, which was customary for him. This caused a rift between them and Senna's family, who felt Galisteu wasn't good enough for him.

Galisteu saw Senna for the last time on April 3, 1994, weeks before his death. She was taking an English language course in Brazil in preparation for spending time in Europe and living with Senna.

Per the biography, Galisteu said that Senna told her he had plans to marry her someday, switch from Williams to Ferrari, and conclude his career with the Italian team.

Galisteu watched the San Marino GP from a TV in Senna's Portugal home. She was among the mourners at Senna's funeral in Brazil in May 1994.

After Senna's death, Galisteu married Brazilian businessman Roberto Justus from 1998 to 1999. She's been married to Alexandre Iódice since 2010, and they have a son named Vittorio.

Galisteu still models and is active on Instagram, where she posts pictures of her photoshoots, her family, and tributes to Senna.

All episodes of "Senna" are streaming on Netflix.