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The F1 docuseries Netflix's Drive to Survive has become a phenomenon since its inception. The series has brought an entirely new ecosystem of fans to the sport who weren't interested in F1 earlier. At the same time, the series has come under scrutiny as well.
The reigning world champion Max Verstappen had opted to sit out for a few seasons only to be persuaded back last year. Lando Norris admits to not being a fan of the storylines, and even Stefano Domenici has shared his displeasure on a few things with the series. At the end of the day, when making an informed decision, you have to look at both sides of the coin.
F1 Netflix Drive to Survive: Pros and Cons
What works? (Pros)
The influx of new audience
The 2022 F1 US GP in Austin had as many as 400,000 fans across three days. Numbers like these are used as validation for the success of the docuseries. To be fair to the series, there is faith in this thought. F1 has grown in America in the last few years, much of which has been attributed to the series.
America is spoilt for choice regarding sports during the weekend. This is one of the reasons why Formula 1 never caught the imagination when audiences had so many options to choose from. This is where the docuseries came in. The OTT space was slowly dominating, and the docuseries gave fans an insight into the dram over, and with the docuseries, prospective fans were enamored and are now part of the sport in huge numbers.
Drivers are now stars.
More often than not, the little guy or the backmarker never got the opportunity to tell his story. This is precisely why you were not a star unless you were contending at the sharp end of the grid. This changed with the docuseries as the stories of the lesser-known drivers came out more often than not.
Yuki Tsunoda became famous, and Esteban Ocon's story was told when he was ousted from Racing Point. In yesteryears, only the Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, or the Juan Pablo Montoya of the world had a major fan following globally.
Now, even midfield drivers like Esteban Ocon or Pierre Gasly have over a million followers on social media. The docuseries played a massive role in making that happen.
So is Guenther!
The popularity was not limited to the drivers; even team principals were spotlighted. The first realization that a team principal's personality also supersedes the team happened with Guenther Steiner.
The Haas team principal became famous for his authentic, uncensored, "heart on his sleeve" personality. Something similar happened with Christian Horner from Red Bull and Toto Wolff from Mercedes.
What doesn't? (Cons)
The fake storylines leave a bad taste
The abuse of creative freedom has become a significant issue for fans in recent years. In the initial years, the docuseries started with a clean slate, and some liberties were taken regarding what footage was used and where it was fitted to create a narrative.
The novelty factor of the series meant that the fans did not object much or make a big deal out of it. However, the novelty factor is now gone, and this is one thing that bothers the fans to a great extent. Fake storylines, fake driver rivalries, and fitting a narrative where it does not exist can be captivating for a viewer who does not follow the sport.
It will not, however, be captivating in any way to anyone who follows the sport closely and can call out what's fake and what isn't.
The "DTS fans" enter the sport with a wrong expectation
Another issue often gets called out is the twisted expectations with which the fans get enamored with the sport. The drama quotient in the docuseries is sometimes over the top and, to be fair, far from reality.
When the Drive to Survive viewer starts watching the sport with the expectation of seeing the kind of drama that is present in the series, they might get disappointed. Either way, they're likely to develop misconceptions about a driver. For instance, Max Verstappen was portrayed contrary to his actual personality during the first edition of the series. A similar thing happened with Lando Norris as a fake rivalry between him and Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren was depicted in the series.
The drivers have voiced their concern
Most importantly, even the F1 drivers have voiced their disapproval of some of the things shown in the series. Norris was vocal last season about the misrepresentation of his relationship with Ricciardo. Verstappen had declined to interview with the crew for the last few seasons.
The Red Bull driver has been persuaded to come back after an understanding was reached between the two parties when one of the supposed key benefactors of the series raised questions over how it reflects the severity of the situation.
Conclusion
When weighing both sides, the question that needs to be answered here is how the business side of F1 is affected by Drive to Survive. When we look at things from that lens, it becomes clear that the sport has grown significantly since the docuseries' inception.
F1 has now cracked the American market. They are legitimate fans of the sport from that part of the world. There is some fanfare attached to the docuseries, and it has fans eagerly waiting for the launch.
Sure, some things need to be worked on - creative freedom needs to be used judiciously and not in a manner that misrepresents the F1 drivers. If tweaks are made on that front, and if the reigning F1 champion is on board with the direction of the series, then it is looking at an unparalleled future.
