When Liberty Media bought the Formula 1 Group in early 2017, many hoped that the new management would change the sport for the better. Many Formula 1 fans around the world thought that Bernie Ecclestone, the previous chief executive of the Formula 1 Group, was not doing enough to bring in new, young fans.
Without new fans, Formula 1 would simply not survive as a sport. It’s viewing figures would continue to decrease until it would be eventually scrapped completely. Formula 1 is an expensive sport to run and without the viewership it would simply not survive.
This is where Liberty Media decided to do something different. They focussed more on bringing the sport to a younger audience. The Formula 1 YouTube channel was revived, social media accounts were created and, perhaps most importantly, they signed a deal with Netflix.
On the 24th March 2018, Formula 1 announced that Netflix were filming a docu-series about the inner-workings of the sport. When Season 1 came out on the 8th March 2019, it was an instant hit, gaining a 100% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. It was quickly renewed for a second season, and then a third and then a fourth.
Drive To Survive followed the highs and lows of racing in Formula 1, such as Daniel Ricciardo’s difficult decision to leave Red Bull; Williams’ struggles to pick themselves off the bottom of the championship table, and the impact of COVID-19.
However, Drive To Survive was not without its controversies, especially during season 3, which covered the 2020 season. Netflix was criticised for using radio from one race over pictures of another to create drama, especially between the Mclaren drivers of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, who were well known for their “bromance” during their time together at Mclaren.
Many fans of the show were also left disappointed by Netflix’s portrayal of Romain Grosjean’s horrific crash. The show showed 4 minutes worth of footage of Grosjean escaping the burning wreckage of his car, when in reality he only spent 28 seconds in the fire. This overdramatisation left many feeling as if Netflix were capitalising off of such a horrible incident purely to sensationalise the sport.
The series often uses depictions of crashes to highlight the drama and intensity of Formula 1, facing criticism from fans for sensationalising the danger.
[Image from: https://www.grandprix247.com/2020/02/29/the-undercut-netflixs-drive-to-survive-is-not-real/]
Despite this, Drive To Survive has definitely had a positive impact on the sport. After the first season aired in 2019, Formula 1 reported that 62% of their new fans were under the age of 35, showing that Liberty Media’s efforts to modernise the sport were paying off.
Much of the praise for Drive To Survive was that it made Formula 1 seem more exciting and helped to explain the complicated tactics behind each race weekend. As Formula 1 became more accessible, people no longer saw it as a dull 2 hour spectacle of cars driving around circles.
Drive To Survive has also increased Liberty Media’s reputation amongst Formula 1 fans. 68% now say that the sport is in good hands, compared to 56% in 2019.
Despite its inaccuracies, Drive To Survive has certainly made a positive impact on the sport and, with season 4 in the works, will hopefully do so for many years to come. By bringing in a younger demographic, Liberty Media have shown that they are committed to modernising Formula 1. As the sport enters the modern age, there is no doubt that it has an excellent future lying ahead of it.
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