IndyCar star eats his words as incorrect F1 prediction ironically went in his favor 

IndyCar star James Hinchcliffe has revealed that he thought the F1 popularity boom created by the Netflix series Drive to Survive would die down in a few years. However, after the show's debut in 2019, F1's viewership has only skyrocketed and season 7 is ready to hit Netflix on March 7 this year.

For Hinchcliffe, his prediction coming wrong turned out to be a sweet, surprising boost to his fame. The Canadian driver ran 11 successful seasons in IndyCar, winning 18 podiums, including six race victories. However, in today's racing landscape, younger fans tend to know him for his work as a presenter for F1TV rather than his heroics in the American open-wheel racing series.

In an interview with Rob Howden, the voice of the USF Pro Championships (a junior series in the IndyCar ladder), James Hinchcliffe commented on Drive to Survive's "unprecedented" success. The 38-year-old commended Netflix for creating this "perfect storm" that no other global sport has been able to replicate.

The former Andretti driver then sheepishly admitted to his skeptical prediction going wrong, saying:

"I'll be honest with you Rob, I was one of those ones that kind of thought it was a bubble... two-three years, then we might see that interest start to wane. It's not the case. The numbers are going up, three races in the US for Formula 1 now. It's absolutely massive. I probably get recognized now as somebody who works on F1TV as much or more than... I had an 11-year-IndyCar career as a driver and people are like, 'Oh man, love you on F1TV.'" [7:47 onwards]

In 2021, F1 witnessed a record cumulative global TV viewership of 1.55 billion, up 4% from the 2020 season. In 2022, ESPN hit a record 1.21 million average viewership, making it the most-watched season in US TV history. Though the numbers fell slightly in 2023 and 2024, with Max Verstappen's dominance boring fans, 'Drive to Survive' remained a hit among fans.

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James Hinchcliffe highlights how IndyCar has benefitted from Netflix's F1 series

AUTO: AUG 17 NTT IndyCar Series Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

James Hinchcliffe elaborated on the impact that Drive to Survive had across racing categories despite just catering to F1. He explained how the Netflix series drew non-racing fans into this high-paced, adrenaline-filled world, which naturally led them to explore other global series.

"The interest in racing has grown. Once people found F1, they thought, 'Hey, this racing stuff's kinda cool. There's a lot of weekends F1 doesn't race. Let's look at what else is out there.' IndyCar has seen a massive explosion in popularity, especially among younger fans and especially among young female fans. I mean (when) I walk through the IndyCar paddock now, I'm blown away (by) how many 18 to 30-year-old women are in the paddock," Hinchcliffe told Rob Howden in the aforementioned interview. [8:35 onwards]

The viewership numbers backed his stance. In 2023, NBC Sports delivered the most-watched IndyCar season in 12 years, and the third consecutive season of growth in TV numbers.

For the 2025 season, the American racing series has replaced NBC with FOX as its official broadcasting partner. Their 2025 promos featuring Josef Newgarden, Alex Palou, and Pato O'Ward are already a colossal hit, and FOX plans to showcase those promos to the passionate NFL audience during the Super Bowl 2025 between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on February 9.