How Netflix built on a successful formula in Drive to Survive Season 3

Of all of the new approaches towards digital media since Formula 1 was acquired by Liberty in 2017, nothing has been as successful as the Netflix series Drive to Survive.

By pitching itself to a limitless audience eager to consume new documentaries and series, F1 found itself welcoming hordes of new fans who had become interested in motorsport courtesy of Netflix.

The secret of the series’ success was accessibility, both in terms of reaching new fans and getting access in F1 itself. You didn’t need to know what DRS stood for or who Gunther Steiner was to consume it and enjoy it. You instead learned about the characters in F1, who the drivers were away from the race track, and what the pinnacle of global motorsport was really like.

Season three of Drive to Survive was released last Friday, comprising another 10 episodes and slightly longer run-times than the previous two seasons. All 10 teams gave access once again, and accommodated the Netflix crew despite the pressures and limits forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, making the creation of such a comprehensive series an achievement in itself.

The access to all of the teams came across better than ever in season three. Unlike the first two series, which episodes tended to centre around a single team, there is far better integration this time around. Although certain events or teams take the priority - episode nine in Bahrain, for example, is based on Romain Grosjean’s accident and Sergio Perez’s comeback victory - there is a nice smattering of voices across each episode. It helps make the series more cohesive and offers a proper storyline through the F1 season, as well as ensuring fans get to know most of the drivers in the paddock.

The drivers line up on the track

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

But there are still some big omissions. Only once is there a mention of COVID-19 impacting the F1 grid (in Bahrain when Lewis Hamilton was ruled out), while Nico Hulkenberg - whose exit was such a huge storyline of season two - is shown at one point with zero explanation, which could be confusing to fair-weather fans. George Russell and Nicholas Latifi hardly feature at all in the series, while early talking head Claire Williams’s departure is explained in a brief few seconds using commentary. There’s also hardly a mention of the Turkish Grand Prix where Hamilton secured his record-equalling seventh title after a dramatic weekend.

The best moments of the series come, as in the first two seasons, it grapples directly with a driver’s emotions and mindset. After a fairly sluggish opening two episodes, the series bursts into life when focusing on Valtteri Bottas - or should that now be Bottass? - and his place at Mercedes against Hamilton. It’s good insight into Bottas’s true character and inner steel, portraying him in a way we’ve rarely seen so clearly before.

By name and by nature, Drive to Survive has always played heavily on the danger side of F1, making Grosjean’s accident a natural focus point. This is the high point of season three, showing some unseen camera angles. Although the sequence of his escape drags on a little long, it draws in all of the emotions of the moment perfectly. Grosjean is brutally open with the Netflix crew about the accident, with the presence of his wife, Marion, only enhancing the interview.

Although there are big gaps in places that will leave F1 diehards wanting more, it treads the line well to make it both accessible for newcomers and entertaining for the already-converted

Diehard F1 fans will continue to find small inaccuracies here and there, such as with the explanation of what DAS is, the use of ‘Scenario 7’ in pre-season testing, and in some of the editing. The sensationalising of events does feel forced in places, particularly in the episode focusing on Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr’s rivalry at McLaren.

This is also the third season in a row where the final episode has trumpeted the battle to finish as the best of the rest in the constructors’ championship. It says more about F1’s current state than it does about Netflix’s own choices, but nevertheless, it’s amped up to levels that, knowing the reality of the situation, make it a bit too much.

F1 obsessives will also take plenty from the series, though. The insight to how frosty relations were within Ferrari following Sebastian Vettel’s exit is particularly noteworthy, especially when the team reels from the announcement of his move to Aston Martin for 2021 ahead of the 1,000th grand prix weekend at Mugello. Those taking issue with some of the inaccuracies should really treat Drive to Survive as an accompaniment to other season reviews, rather than the definite reflection of how the season played out.

The ordering of the season does get a little confusing at times. As previously mentioned, the slow first two episodes do little to really draw in viewers who may not already be F1 fans. It would perhaps have been better to try and start the season in punchier fashion, such as with Grosjean’s accident, to lure people in and then build the series from there. The crash itself arguably also deserved the focus of an entire episode, rather than being paired with Perez’s story in Bahrain.

Romain Grosjean, Haas F1 getting out of his car that is on fire

Photo by: Motorsport Images

One of the other big topics that is barely given a mention is F1’s anti-racism messaging and ‘We Race As One’ campaign, which is disappointing. It has been such a huge focus for Hamilton in particular, and deserved far more than a five-minute segment at the very end of the season. This is the biggest platform F1 has to get its messaging across and open the series up, so to merely bolt this on at the end is a missed opportunity.

Nevertheless, season three of Drive to Survive once again does a good job of catering for all-comers. Complex issues such as Racing Point’s ‘pink Mercedes’ and the brake duct copy saga are explained in a way that those without a basic F1 knowledge can understand. This accessibility has been the real secret to why the series has been such a success over the years.

The presentation of the characters remains at the very heart of the series, thankfully. Haas team boss Steiner is perhaps the most toned-down he’s been yet, but nevertheless delivers some wonderful one-liners. An entertaining moment comes when he swears at his PR when offered an umbrella, joking that it would hurt his ego - before the very next shot shows Racing Point boss Otmar Szafnauer walking under an umbrella held by his PR.

Daniel Ricciardo is on cracking form again, especially when talking about the tattoo bet with Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul, while Pierre Gasly’s redemption arc is delivered perfectly across Spa and Monza. It is also pleasing to see Lando Norris get so much screentime after being largely absent in season two. Lance Stroll is another personality that comes across really well throughout the series. Newcomers to F1 will once again learn that the drivers are not simply robots who put the visor down and race, instead seeing their true colours.

Although there are big gaps in places that will leave F1 diehards wanting more, it treads the line well to make it both accessible for newcomers and entertaining for the already-converted.

Season three of Drive to Survive has continued to build upon the successful format of the first two series, and remains a hit with viewers. Three days since its release, the series remains #1 in the UK on Netflix, which in the absence of raw viewing figures is as ringing an endorsement as it gets.

Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF1000, passes the Airbus H125 camera helicopter

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images