5 reasons why F1's Netflix Drive to Survive became a success story

The official F1 account took it upon itself to announce the launch date of Season 6 of Netflix's Drive to Survive, announcing that it will be released on February 23.

The documentary that covers the sport from a somewhat theatrical sense debuted six years back when the sport was reeling under Mercedes dominance. The new rules that introduced the V6 Turbo hybrids in 2014 gave Mercedes a massive headstart over everyone else. This led to the team romping to title wins from 2014 to 2017 with not much of a challenge.

It was during this time that Liberty Media had taken over the sport and in an exercise to grow the sport, the series was conceived. Still a very novel idea at the time, Netflix Drive to Survive took its time to gain traction but slowly started building up a following.

That following is what has ushered in an entirely new fanbase in F1. So much so that the Netflix Drive to Survive series has led to various adaptations across different sports.

It does, however, raise one question: what led to its success?

Let's take a look at some of the factors that helped Netflix Drive to Survive become a success.

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Why F1's Netflix Drive to Survive became a success

#1 The focus on the lesser-known stars

One of the major issues about F1 has always been the entire focus on one or two stars at the front of the grid. It was a Senna/Prost/Mansell show in the 80s and 90s, the Michael Schumacher show in the 2000s and, when Drive to Survive was first conceived, it was the Lewis Hamilton show.

There were far too many stories on the F1 grid that were left untold in all these years, which the series chose to shed light on. The first-ever season focused on Esteban Ocon and the story of how he made his way through the ranks amidst despondent levels of poverty. There was a focus on Daniel Ricciardo, who became an instant success story, as well.

Not many were aware of this side of F1 and it came through in the series.

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#2 The novelty

A series that covered the entire F1 season but did it from a completely different lens is a novelty in its own way.

For a fan of the sport, this was added valuable content that they could watch, while for a first-time viewer, this was a different view into the F1 world that made it more palatable.

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#3 The pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic engulfed the world in 2020 and everyone was locked in their home, leading to a rise in online content viewership. Over-the-top platforms (OTTs) took over and you had a content-hungry world looking for quality work to be explored.

This is where the Drive to Survive documentary fit like a glove. It gained an impressive following during this time and has continued to prosper since then.

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#4 It captured the untapped American market

One of F1's, and arguably Bernie Ecclestone's, biggest failings was that the sport could not truly expand in America. There were many attempts made over the years but they fell short almost every time.

Netflix and OTTs already having an established market in the region truly helped the sport gain viewers in that region and ultimately a lot of them trickled down to the sport as well.

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#5 The behind the scene moments

If there was something that the F1 fans had been starved of in the sport's coverage, it was behind-the-scenes footage and comments that the teams and drivers make.

F1 is too PR intensive and makes headlines very easily through quotes from drivers or team personnel. The documentary offered a new vantage point, showing a completely different side with plenty of behind-the-scenes moments.

You could see Christian Horner frustrated when Mercedes was dominating as well as the sheer intensity of the title battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in 2021. This is the kind of content that the teams often shield away from the media.

The docuseries gave access to all of that and it helped an increased interest from the fans who would want to see the behind-the-scenes stuff.