Growing up as a racing fan, no one around me seemed to care about Formula 1. This all changed in 2019 when Netflix released Drive to Survive, a high octane, fly-on-the-wall docuseries about the pinnacle of motorsport. Since its release, Drive to Survive has exploded in popularity and is credited with starting the renaissance the sport has experienced in recent years. The massive amount of attention the show has drawn to the sport, especially in America, has created divides in the F1 world that are more apparent than ever with the release of the show’s 6th season last week.
At its core, Drive to Survive, like the sport it follows, is fun to watch. The cars are fast, the locations are grand (Monte Carlo, Vegas, Singapore, etc.), and the characters associated with the sport (drivers, team principles, engineers) are compelling. But Netflix has never been in the “fun” business—they care about one thing and one thing only: drama, something they’re willing to manufacture when the natural supply runs out. Formula 1 is no stranger to drama. Fans of the Netflix show, however, would probably tell you that the sport is much more dramatic than any other, but this simply isn’t true. Sure, drivers throw frequent verbal barbs at each other, attempt to play mind games, and team principals get fired, but these things happen in every sport. The only difference is that there isn’t a highly popular Netflix show about them that blows these small incidents out of proportion, and in some cases, is the hand stirring the pot so they happen.
Don’t get me wrong though, I binged all ten episodes of the new season of Drive to Survive mere days after its release, and I hope everyone else does the same to get a taste of the sport I’ve loved my entire life. To hardcore F1 fans, the show is silly in its dramatics, but that shouldn’t make it any less fun to watch. I vehemently disagree with a majority of F1 Twitter who look down on the show and the fans it’s brought to our sport. Watching really fast cars drive around in circles for hours isn’t for everyone, but highly motivated athletes, crazy characters, and fun locations are certainly appealing to many. The show has made the sport the most accessible it’s been in decades, contributing to its unprecedented rise in popularity fans should be happy about. Whether you’ve been a fan your entire life or you think motorsport is boring, you should watch Drive to Survive not because it does justice to the sport, but rather because it’s fun, fast, and dramatic.
