The Netflix documentary series, “Drive to Survive”, has already captivated audiences for 6 seasons, and now, season 7 is taking over our screens. Avid F1 fans and reality TV watchers alike have been drawn to the show, reveling over its insight into the technical side of the sport as well as the more personal, intimate aspects.
So what exactly goes into making Drive To Survive?
Netflix has at least two or three crews at every F1 race - crews consist of producers and camera & audio operators. They’re tasked with capturing behind the scenes footage from the F1 paddock and beyond, as well as recording verbal interactions between notable F1 members, and holding private interviews with F1 drivers, managers, and other personnel to get the inside scoop.
Crews have access to drivers, management, team meetings, and the garages, meaning they have to be extremely discreet when shooting and must remain tight lipped when mixing with the public so as not to compromise the teams and their strategies.
Five of the F1 drivers (Pierre Gasly, Alex Albon, George Russell, Lando Norris, and Charles Leclerc) are also given mobile phones to record their own footage, which provides a unique insight into the world of an F1 driver through their eyes.
Seemingly the most enthusiastic and open to this experience is Lando Norris, who speaks candidly and honestly with Netflix crews – he’s particularly open about the incident in Hungary 2024 where he was told to give back the race lead to teammate, Oscar Piastri - details of which were previously hazy.
Netflix crews in and around the paddock are equipped with a staggering array of high-tech digital gear to capture the action each week and even have access to F1's official footage! There are constraints and conditions, however, such as they’re not allowed to use any of their footage until the end of the season to ensure F1's broadcast partners can deliver exciting live coverage without competition.
In the paddock, the Netflix crews have right of way over photographers, so it’s up to us to adapt and find a way to work around them. Personally, I like to use the crews to my advantage – if I see a crew, a camera, or a boom mic somewhere in the paddock, that’s usually a good indicator that something worth capturing is about to happen, so I’ll stick around and check it out.
F1 teams receive exclusive access to the final edit just days before it’s made public. Teams can make requests to have things edited or not included in the series, but Netflix has no obligation to agree to these requests.
If there’s perhaps something that doesn’t show them in the best light, F1 teams have a bit of time to develop a PR strategy to manage the potential fallout and or media attention they’ll receive.
After watching season 7, I was surprised to see no mention of Franco Colapinto, despite his participation in the 2024 F1 season being well received. Daniel Ricciardo’s abrupt exit from F1 also failed to be documented. However, given that there’s only 10 episodes and copious amounts of footage to fit into the 40-minute time frame, it’s inevitable that certain things will be missed.
But why is Drive To Survive so popular?
Well, it seems to be an ever-increasing fascination to see behind the scenes footage, even for non F1 fans. Seeing the personable and human side of the sport is a unique feature, and one that audiences appear to love. Plus, with the rise of social media, and now being 7 seasons deep into Drive To Survive, many of the F1 drivers have an increased ‘celebrity status’, making them more appealing to more viewers. In fact, F1 viewership is increasing – particularly with the number of young people and women tuning in!
Will there be a season 8?
Netflix is yet to confirm an eighth season but given the audience reception to season 7 and the notable changes to F1 for 2025 – Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari and Carlos Sainz at Williams for instance – I’d be surprised if there wasn’t.
