Unlike a traditional documentary, it has no formal commentary or retrospective "talking head" interviews, and relies primarily on archival racetrack and broadcast news footage, voiceover narration, and home video clips provided by the Senna family.

After early successes at Toleman and Lotus, briefly noted in the film, the narrative shifts to Senna's rise to World Champion at McLaren.

As a Formula One legend and a Brazilian cultural icon, Senna uses his influence to support driver safety in motorsport and help underprivileged children in Brazil.

During the 1992 season, McLaren's great rival, Williams, develops computer-guided racing equipment that turns Formula One from a championship of drivers into a political struggle to get the best car.

Senna wastes two years of his career as Nigel Mansell cruises to the title in 1992 and Alain Prost (now with Williams) easily wins in 1993.

Rubens Barrichello is badly injured on Friday, Roland Ratzenberger is killed on Saturday, and JJ Lehto and Pedro Lamy collide on Sunday.

The reviewer added that "the theatrical version is more cinematic," but the extended edition "gives more sense of the accomplishments of Senna, and how the man touched lives.

With so much material to choose from, Kapadia prioritized events with compelling camera footage, at the cost of omitting some of the most famous moments of Senna's career.

"[10] One critic wrote that "like the pop art movement decades prior, Kapadia takes existing elements of mass culture and transforms and recontextualises them.

The website's critical consensus reads, "Even for filmgoers who aren't racing fans, Senna offers heart-pounding thrills -- and heartbreaking emotion.

"[16] Dan Jolin of Empire gave the film 4 stars out of 5 and stated that it is "ambitiously constructed, deeply compelling, thrilling and in no way only for those who like watching cars drive in circles".

[17] Steve Rose, writing in The Guardian, also gave the film a 4 out of 5, and praised the fact that "with so much recorded footage of Formula One available, it has been possible to fashion Senna's story as a live action drama rather than a posthumous documentary.

Autosport's Graham Keilloh wrote on his personal blog that the film oversimplified the Senna-Prost rivalry at Prost's expense because it "had to have a coherent Hollywood-style narrative, complete with a protagonist and antagonist.

[22] In addition, Julian Jakobi (who was Senna and Prost's manager) explained that the movie understated the role of McLaren engine supplier Honda in fueling the rivalry.