In 2019, Netflix debuted its latest partnership with a pro sports league: Formula One Racing. Longtime fans of the racing series and newcomers to racing (or even sports in general) helped catapult the documentary series to new heights of popularity—not that F1 needed it.
Not only is the racing series one of the most lucrative sporting leagues in the world (taking home over $2 billion in 2019, according to Statista), but it’s also one of the quickest-growing betting markets in the punting industry. And now, thanks to series like Drive to Survive, Formula One has thousands of new fans.
Reliable sportsbooks are now looking to capitalize on punters looking to back underdogs like Verstappen or Ricciardo for a first-place finish. And with each season’s revolving partnerships, wagers from expert sports analysts shift according to each year’s latest driver-and-manufacturer, providing an extra element of excitement.
That same drama is what fuels the show, providing a natural storyline as filmmakers follow the drivers and manufacturers around the world for their twenty-plus annual races. On the outside, racers like Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) and Sebastian Vettel (formerly Ferrari, now Aston Martin) commanded the headlines.
Now, new F1 fans are more concerned with names like Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon when, three years ago, few knew their names. With Season Three of Drive to Survive set to launch shortly, let’s take a look behind the scenes of Netflix’s latest sports doc hit.
Season One: On Board for the Ride
For longtime F1 fans and newcomers alike, the first season of Drive to Survive added intrigue to the racing series because it didn’t include its top dogs: Ferrari and Mercedes. Each year, ten teams consisting of two drivers each compete to be named the champions of racing and engine production.
In the past twenty years, no groups have been able to compete meaningfully against Ferrari or Mercedes in terms of World Championship drivers (aside from a recent push from Red Bull and, coming into the 2021 season, Aston Martin). The fact that the first season of Drive to Survive omitted these groups only added depth to the series, which would typically glean over groups like Williams and McLaren.
Does the Drama Unfold Naturally?
Given there are only two positions for top drivers on each team, and each team utilizes engines created by only four manufacturers (Mercedes, Ferrari, Honda, and Renault), the world of F1 is highly competitive. For this reason, the documentary series can naturally follow the drama that occurs between drivers as they fight for resources from their team and glory on the track.
That being said, some have come forward to critique Drive to Survive. Max Verstappen, a Dutch driver for Red Bull who features heavily in the show, revealed in an interview with ABtalks to say his interviews from the first season were twisted. He felt that certain situations and pieces of dialogue were purposefully misconstrued to make situations seem more dire from the outside.
Viewers will have to decide if producers misinterpreted the reality behind F1, or if they’ve instead successfully depicted the racing series’ tensest moments.
A Dash of Hollywood
Though the drama unfolding behind the scenes certainly wasn’t concocted by producers, there’s one thing racing diehards can uniformly critique about the show: the sound effects might not be exactly what a spectator may hear beside the track.
Certain scenes in the documentary series that include crashes, according to fans with a technical background in racing, may have received some soundboard treatment. While this may be a legitimate bone to pick for diehard racing pundits, casual fans of the sport maybe benefited from the additional production. (For context, soundboards are also used by major broadcasters at live sporting events to help the audience follow the action.)
