Ayrton Senna He knew how to become one of the best Brazilian athletes of the 20th century. Thanks to his charisma, his fierce competitive spirit, a firm and determined personality and the courage exhibited on the tracks, the three-time Formula 1 champion received the kind of idolatry that the Brazilian people used to reserve, until then, for footballers, musicians and popular artists.
Such a life deserved to be told in a Netflix series and as with every decisive event worldwide, there is always an Argentine involved at the heart of the events. In this case it is Luciano Crespian Argentine pilot with a long career, who, together with his family, played a fundamental role in the six-chapter story. In this talk with NOTICIAS, Crespi enters the pits, changes tires and quickly starts telling his story.
News: How did you get involved with the Senna series?
Luciano Crespi: I speak on behalf of the Crespi company, which belongs to the family, founded by our father Tulio in 1963 and which develops all the cars you see in the country today. Many years later this great challenge appeared that we assumed with the commitment and responsibility it deserves because it is something extraordinary and exciting, we had to build vintage Formula 1 cars for the Ayrton series. They located us through production, at that time I was living in Switzerland, working in an international Formula 3 team. It was in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, the day they called me for the first time I was riding my bicycle from the workshop to my house, the phone rang, I answered and we started chatting. I had the first conversation for a series about Senna on a bicycle, imagine! (series)
News: What was that first call like?
Crespi: That first call was the introduction to an idea they had, to manufacture replicas of cars from 1981 where they told me about Formula Fords. Little by little, as time and conversations went by, they confirmed to me that it was for the Senna series. Only then did we know that they needed to manufacture the Formula Ford 2000, the Formula 3 and the Formula 1. That was when this took on a mega dimension, because making 16 Formula 1 cars in the record time that they asked of us was almost impossible. We are not talking about a model car, it had to ride and perform like a race car. I got together with my brothers Matías and Sandro and my dad and we gave shape to the project. The trust that the production placed in us was enormous. My brother and I, after “Senna”, are manufacturing some Formula 1 concept cars inspired by the cars we made for the series to be able to bring them to collectors and amateur drivers.
News: I understand that you and your brother had to drive Ayrton’s and Alan Prost’s cars in the series. How was that experience?
Crespi: Yes, from the first moment we told production that we were going to drive the cars ourselves, it was necessary to perfectly understand what had to be done, what things the cars were capable of doing and above all what could not be done, the latter was essential . I raced in Formula 3 in Europe, I made my career as a driver and what’s more, I started in Formula Ford, just like Ayrton did, I was a big fan of his, he was always a hero for me. And my brother Matías’s idol was Prost. Can you believe that thirty years later we find ourselves dressed as Prost and I as Senna filming the series? It was amazing!
News: When Ayrton Senna died you were 16 years old, do you remember that day?
Crespi: I remember as if it were today. I was racing in Formula Renault Argentina doing my first championship season, but that weekend I had to be at home and watch the race like anyone else. It was a huge nonsense, I felt that what was happening was not real. Unfortunately the suffering was very great, the impression I had was enormous. The following weekend we had a race, we went to test in Río Cuarto and I couldn’t concentrate, there was no way to focus and be able to drive the car correctly.
News: What was so special about Senna to provoke such idolatry?
Crespi: He was a driver who had a hard time reaching the top, like all South Americans who went racing in Europe at some point, because we have certain disadvantages. For the Brazilian and South American people in general, Ayrton was the modern flag of excellence, of commitment to passion, he was committed to the maximum, there was nothing that could stop him. Senna constantly broke records and I think he would have gone much further if he hadn’t had that fatality. Beyond what he was as a pilot, we must highlight him as a human being, as a channel for the integration of the most humble into society.
News: You had a great experience as a pilot, what was the moment of retirement like?
Crespi: That moment is traumatic, it is something very difficult to cope with. I had two retirements, the first was returning from running in Europe, which had been my dream and my constant desire. I left when I was 18 and I managed alone with the team, like Ayrton and so many other drivers did who left everything aside to concentrate on our passion. Sometimes the circumstances do not end up being with you, there are economic or maximum performance issues for which you do not manage to reach Formula 1 and you return, that is a first big downturn from which you have to recover quickly. Luckily I was able to start racing in my father’s TC2000 team that he had together with my brothers Sandro and Matías, so I started competing there for three or four years. Later, together with Matías we began to develop very young drivers and give them the opportunity to grow in Formula Renault.
News: What does it feel like to drive a racing car that goes hundreds of kilometers per hour?
Crespi: It is something difficult to explain because you feel vertigo, an adrenaline that blocks any type of fear and then driving a car like that generates a sensation similar to skiing, you perceive the speed, the control of your body over the machine, the skidding, all of that is very worth experiencing, I recommend it! (laughs) That combined with the competition and the mystique is strong. When you are about to start you never know if you are going to win, lose, get out of the car or if you are never going to do it again. All those things, even if you don’t stop to think about them specifically, roll around in your head, but the conviction at that moment is so great that nothing can stop you.
News: You live in Balcarce so you have to travel the route a lot. How do we Argentines handle it?
Crespi: As Fangio said: “Argentines drive very well, but we drive very badly” (laughs). There is a big difference between both things. Personally, I drive calmly, I know what I’m doing, I respect traffic rules, the maximum speed…sometimes I get a little confused when I see that I can (smiles), but I am very aware of what I’m doing behind the wheel. .
News: Max Verstappen has just been crowned F1 champion for the fourth time. What is your opinion as a driver?
Crespi: He is excellent, at the level of the best in the world in the history of this sport. He still has a lot to give, and he is also a very loved person, extremely charismatic, an athlete who gets along very well with his peers, is truly respected and knows how to work as a team.
News: It is impossible not to ask you about Franco Colapinto, what do you think of this phenomenon that has been unleashed?
Crespi: Franco is worth highlighting, he is today’s great Argentine hope in Formula 1. He surpassed all the parameters that we had knowledge and experts about what he could give and we are very happy that this is the case. We all want him to continue evolving, I hope he has many more years of Formula 1 ahead of him. I think he deserves it for his talent, for his personality. That achievement would be very good not only for him but for Argentina.
