Formula 1 racing has been one of the world’s most prestigious motorsports circuits for decades, but it’s now experiencing a bump in popularity thanks to Drive to Survive. The docuseries, which debuted its fourth season this month, provides fans an in-depth look at the drivers, teams and personalities in the paddock. But more importantly, it’s developed a new and passionate fan base, especially in America. Since the series’ 2019 debut, ESPN’s ratings averaged 928,000 viewers per race in 2021 compared to 547,000 in 2018.
This season covers the 2021 F1 campaign, and we’ve surveyed several avowed motorsports enthusiasts about how this docuseries feeds their fandom.
These fans are all American, which until recently has been an audience F1 has failed to connect with, but they come from all parts of the country and came to the sport in different ways. Before Drive to Survive, most had no idea what F1 Racing entailed or even knew of drivers like Max Verstappen. Others who were already fans found a deeper connection to the sport through this docuseries. A Gen Z, Lebanese-American journalist based in Southern California who wakes up in the middle of the night to watch races with her brother; a millennial record label worker in Brooklyn whose friends convinced her to check out the series; an Illinois former auto worker whose interest in cars led him to F1 and then Drive to Survive; and a Midwestern parent who found the Sunday morning routine fit perfectly with his infant’s schedule — these are just a handful of a large swath of people connected by a new or reinvigorated love of F1.
Fans at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, last year.
What made you decide to watch Drive to Survive in the first place? Caitlin A., 24, a journalist based in Orange County: I’ve always been into sports and I’ve always loved sports documentaries. I knew I might like this, even though I’m not into motorsports at all. Hannah S. C., a Brooklyn-based worker at a record label: I had a few friends who were watching Drive to Survive, and we were on a weekend trip together, and they were like, “Oh, we’re all going to get up on Sunday and watch the race.” And I was like, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I watched one episode and then watched the Silverstone race with my friends. When I went home, I watched the rest of the first season in a day.
Ben C., 26, a government employee in Chicago: I’ve been a fan of F1 since 2014, which is longer than most of the American audience that it has now. I was so excited about the show because I wanted a deeper look at the sport. Before the show, being an American fan was an extremely lonely, lonely experience.
What were your preconceptions about F1 going into the documentary? Hannah: Pretty much nothing. If you had said Formula 1 to me, I’d be like, “I think that’s cars.” Lindy M., who watched the show on a whim based on her Netflix algorithm: I have a crazy story. One of our neighbors was watching the Australian Grand Prix a while ago. It was in the middle of the night, and he woke his wife up to get her to come downstairs to watch it, and a tree fell through their ceiling and crushed their bedroom. If the Grand Prix hadn’t been on in the middle of the night, they would’ve been crushed.
Ben: I worked at a car dealership, and I was around these guys who were tuning their cars and modifying them. I started to learn about how cars work, and then I got interested in how a car works at a racing level. I took that to the natural conclusion of F1, which is the pinnacle of auto engineering. Greg M., a new parent from Iowa: I thought it was stiff and stale and boring. All racing was really boring to me.
What changed? Caitlin: What’s nice about F1 is that while it’s a complicated sport, it’s essentially very simple. There’s not a ton that you need to know to enjoy it. There are 20 drivers and 10 teams, which is pretty easy to remember, especially when they’re name brands like Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull. For me, the most interesting element of it was the money. I didn’t realize how much money went into the sport. Greg: Watching the show, I started to care about the guys who weren’t at the top of the field. Where normally I’d just watch the SportsCenter highlights, now I’m invested in how Lando Norris is going to do in a race.
F1 Grand Prix of The Netherlands, last year.
What drivers did you gravitate toward while watching the docuseries? Hannah: It creates such a good hero/villain narrative. In the first season, you’ve got Daniel Ricciardo being so likable and his Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen not being super likable. When you get Lewis Hamilton and everybody else in the mix in the second and third season, it really creates a whole new world for the sport beyond what you see on the track. I think now I’m a McLaren fan with Lando Norris and Ricciardo on board.
Steve Z., 34, who works for an online merchandising company in Chicago: I don’t know why, but Lance Stroll rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it’s the nepotism. [Stroll’s father Lawrence owns Aston Martin’s racing team.] [Stroll seems] like he’s not trying to be the likable guy, which makes it fun. I have an almost four-year-old son who loves cars. There’s a song about Max Verstappen. I played that for him once jokingly. He loved it. I know Max isn’t a big part of the series, but he’s somebody that we kind of latched onto [on] the Red Bull team just ’cause my son liked it. Caitlin: I’m a really big Aston Martin fan. I’m really pulling for them. Sebastian Vettel is my favorite driver. He’s an incredible driver, a back-to-back world champion — but a lot of it’s who he is and what he stands for and how vocal he is about what he believes.
What were your favorite storylines in the series? Lindy: One thing that sticks out to me was Romain Grosjean’s crash in Bahrain, where he was rescued from the fire. That was absolutely insane. I also like the personal parts of it where you get to see the driver’s family. There was a scene that showed Daniel’s mom checking out a race. Just watching a mom be so nervous for her son — that was so humanizing.
Steve: There’s some really interesting “teammates working together” stories and “teammates hating each other” stories. In general, that kind of clash between teammates really drew me into the sport, too. They all want to win, right? But sometimes egos get in the way. Ben: I had never paid much attention to those back of the pack teams before Drive to Survive. Even though teams like Williams, Haas and Renault might not be very competitive in terms of finishing positions, that doesn’t make them any less interesting.
Fans at the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil in 2021.
Do you wake up to watch races? Caitlin: Even though I’m on the West Coast, I love waking up early for races. I actually really like it when it’s super dark because I have my TV right next to my bed, I keep all the lights off and I get into it. Hannah: I don’t just watch the races, I went to a race in Mexico City. I’d heard that the Mexico City race is one of the best F1 events. But after going, I realized it’s impossible to imagine the scale of everything even when you’re watching the race in real life. [372,000 people went to the actual race in 2021.] Even though it felt like a music festival, it was bigger than any music festival I’ve ever been to. But when you’re there, it’s amazing. You don’t have any idea how fast the cars are going until you sit there and see them going by you.
What do you like about the races now that you’ve seen the show? Caitlin: I understand the races much better than I would’ve otherwise since seeing the show. The personalization of it all, like when Danny Ric wins a race in Monza — you know what that means to him because you’ve seen him be very honest about his switch from Red Bull and how badly things went at Renault. Hannah: The first race that I watched was Silverstone in 2021, which was that race where Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton crashed into each other. I asked my friends, “Is this normal?” And they responded, “This is not normal. This is crazy.” Watching that first race and realizing that anything can happen in these races was so cool.
Ben: I would say that the main way that it has enhanced my viewing pleasure of the sport in general is by bringing in a broader American audience, that it is now becoming a part of the American sports viewing consciousness. Now my dad is even into it. He’s up at 6:00 in the morning on Sundays on race days texting me about it.
Fans during a practice round of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, last year.
Did Drive to Survive make you want to watch other motorsports like NASCAR, IndyCar or IMSA? Lindy: Formula E is a very progressive take on the sport. I love how they have women drivers and that the cars are all electric. I think it’s the next generation of things. Greg: Some IndyCar. My father-in-law is a big NASCAR guy, but it’s been hard because you don’t have a show like Drive to Survive to get to know the field. We bridge the gap with F1. Caitlin: My brother and I got into motorsports through Drive to Survive. So we’ve been watching NASCAR together and we’ve been watching IndyCar together. I’ll admit: NASCAR’s still the hardest for me to get truly into, because there’s so many people involved.
What are you most excited about for Season 4 of Drive to Survive? Lindy: This past season in F1 was incredible because it was so head-to-head between Hamilton and Verstappen. From what I’ve understood, the sport hasn’t always been that way, and I can’t wait to see how the season, which came down to the last lap, goes [on Drive to Survive]. I know that Max stopped filming last October, so I’m curious about how they handle that. Caitlin: Given all of the drama surrounding [now former Haas driver] Nikita Mazepin now, I’m very interested to see that episode. I was feeling a lot of sympathy for him last season and the bullying and harassment he got, but now I feel less sympathy given what’s going on in the world.
