Netflix mocked for using Argentine peaks to depict Norfolk in drama on Formula 1 star Ayrton Senna

The fictional scene depicting mountains before shots showing Snetterton Circuit - filmed in Argentina - for the new Netflix six-part series about Formula One driver Ayrton Senna. Credit: Gullane Entretenimento/Netflix
The fictional scene depicting mountains before shots showing Snetterton Circuit - filmed in Argentina - for the new Netflix six-part series about Formula One driver Ayrton Senna. Credit: Gullane Entretenimento/Netflix

The creators of a new Netflix series on Formula One champion Ayrton Senna have been mocked for scenes depicting the flat landscapes of Norfolk as having "Himalaya-rivalling peaks".

Viewers of the six-part biographical drama about the world famous driver have been surprised to see large mountains in the background in scenes supposed to be based at Snetterton Circuit.

The shots for the track for the Netflix series were actually filmed in Argentina, not off the A11 near Thetford where the circuit is based.

Netflix says the series is a "fictionalised version of the beloved driver's ride through life".

Snetterton Circuit which is based off the A11 in Norfolk. Credit: ITV News Anglia

Many people on social media were quick to comment on the surprising addition to the Norfolk landscape.

One person said: "Just over the mountain is Norwich, right?"

Another said: "Little known fact - Norwich is 3,042m above sea level."

Other comments included: "Is that Center Parcs Thetford Forest I see in the background?"

And another surprised viewer said: "My car does sometimes struggle to climb the precipitous slip road off the A11 if I haven't fitted the snow chains."

Snetterton Circuit posted its own tongue-in-cheek reply on X.

"We've seen a few comments online about how unusually mountainous Snetterton looks in the current Netflix drama about a certain Brazilian racing driver," it wrote.

"But we think it's accurate. The monumental Himalaya-rivalling peaks of Old Buckenham are frequently visible on a clear day."

The Ayrton Senna memorial in Italy. Credit: PA

Senna started his racing career in Norfolk in the early 1980s with the Brazilian star living in Eaton, a suburb of Norwich.

He raced for Team Lotus, based in Hethel, south of Norwich, in 1985.

Senna was one of the most dominant and successful Formula One drivers with many considering him to be among the greatest drivers in the history of the sport.

He achieved 41 wins in his career, and won three F1 world championships in 1988, 1990 and 1991, but he was killed in an accident while leading the San Marino Grand Prix in May 1994.

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