In the long history of Formula 1, one of the most difficult challenges of the sport has been to attract a large number of fans in the United States of America, where the culture of motorsport is more linked to national categories such as IndyCar or NASCAR.
Despite organizing various Grands Prix across multiple circuits – including the first attempt, in the 1950s, to include the Indianapolis 500 as a test of the Formula 1 championship – the international top motorsport series has never quite managed to win over the American public. However, since the ownership of Formula 1 passed into the hands of the American company Liberty Media back in 2017, the USA interest in the category has increased, up to the point of exploding with the advent of a TV docu-series by Netflix: ‘Drive to Survive ‘.
The documentary series produced in a collaboration between Netflix and Formula One, created the following year, offers fans an unprecedented point of view from the Formula 1 world, through backstage and behind the scenes moments from the paddock. The format, consisting of ten episodes a year, has had enormous success especially in the USA, so much so as to contribute to the confirmation of another season for the 2023 championship, as well as a more than likely multi-year renewal. These options have been confirmed directly at the BlackBook Motorsport Forum 2022 by Ian Holmes, the Director of Media Rights at Formula 1 and F1 content creation: “I think if we’re satisfied, if people want to keep watching it, and if Netflix is satisfied, then I think that we will continue beyond the sixth series“.
During the same event, Ian Holmes also talked about the idea that led to the creation of ‘Drive to Survive’, derived from McLaren’s ‘Grand Prix Driver’ series broadcast on Amazon Prime, in addition to other similar programs on other sports: “In the wake of Liberty Media’s desire to adopt a slightly different and more inclusive approach – he said – we thought it would be better to adopt a narrative that focuses on sport as a whole. All teams, all drivers, all team principals, etc. We struck a deal with Netflix fairly quickly, but it was conditioned by the teams’ approval. So we had to sit down with the ten teams, which took a lot longer. At the beginning Ferrari and Mercedes refused but, even if they took a little longer, in the end they accepted the concept” – the Head of F1 Media Rights added.
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In addition, Ian Holmes outlined the agreements that exist with the teams for the creation of videos, as well as indicating data on the success of the series from year to year. A program that, moreover, has never had a direct influence on some world events such as the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: “The teams can see the drafts of the videos, but not the final result – he explained – there were a few things here and there that have caused controversy, but it’s generally a very collaborative approach. ‘Drive to Survive also did not influence the results of a race, session or championship. We realized that the peak of the ratings was in the third series – he commented – the first season was very well received, and Netflix was happy. In the second season there was a 5% drop, but that was completely normal. Then, in the third one, there was a 50% increase. At that point we sat down and thought: ‘this is not normal’ ” – he concluded.
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