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With the documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive, whose third season was released on March 19 on Netflix, just before the resumption of the championship, Formula 1 has succeeded in its bet to renew and expand its audience.

Mercedes drivers, Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, under the lens for Drive to Survive (season 3).

Larger, younger, but also less European… for a few years now, Formula 1 has been looking for a new audience and has managed to find it thanks to the series Drive to Survive.

« Drivers, managers and team owners live life in the fast lane —both on and off the track— during each cutthroat season of Formula 1 racing. » This is how this documentary series is summed up on Netflix. It takes up, in each season and in each episode, the great moments of Formula 1 championship on the previous year.

This series is one of the means used to open up this sport, to reach a wider audience while continuing to serve enthusiasts. Indeed, since 2017, the Liberty Media group, which bought the commercial rights to Formula 1, wanted to end the era of exclusive rights to this sport. So Formula 1, which had an aging public, opened its doors to secure a future. First on social networks, and then on the Netflix streaming platform, which offered to follow the behind the scenes of the championship in a series. Season 1 of Drive to survive, devoted to the 2018 world championship, was then released in February 2019, a few days before the 2019 championship's debut. It was followed by a second season in 2020, and finally a third a few days ago.

From the start, the series was a great success. The audience is large, but so is its nature. The fan is attracted, of course, but also the non-fan, the occasional fan or the former fan. The success is even at the rendez-vous in the United States, where the Nascar or the IndyCar are however more popular. And the success of the series has even had repercussions on the success of the Formula 1 championship. In the first part of the 2019 championship, which followed the release of the first season of the series, the attendance record was beaten!

To get this new audience on board, the series is very educational. It clearly explains how Formula 1 works, as motor sports are quite technical and less accessible than football for example. But we quickly understand how a race works, who are the drivers, the teams, and what their strategies are. And to get everyone hooked, the series also shows Formula 1 from a new angle. Thanks to it, we know the personality of the pilots, of whom we almost only see the helmets during races. Seeing them behind the scenes makes us become attached to them as to characters. Finally, although this is a documentary series, the editing and script of the episodes make the races epic and thrilling. It dramatizes the championship. You can feel all the tension there is in this sport. The immersion is total, even if sometimes there is a risk of a fictionalization of reality.

For Formula 1, which is experiencing a renewal of its audience, the mission is successful. And you, will you be one of the new F1 fans…?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aViLtXEtgqs

Official Trailer of Formula 1: Drive to Survive (season 3).