Why bad Netflix reviews and a Vegas race might signal more double points F1 deciders

On the back of the increasing popularity of Formula 1, helped in part by the effect of Netflix's Drive to Survive, the championship's presence in America has swollen. But as reviews for Netflix's F1 docuseries begin to fall, keeping hold of US interest could result in a return to a once-used artificial means of keeping the title race open

Matt Kew Apr 5, 2022, 2:46 PM

Upd: Apr 18, 2022, 7:46 AM

Formula 1 has now cracked America, with Las Vegas completing a three-pronged attack alongside the sold-out Austin and Miami rounds. The championship’s Stateside foothold has come a long way since the 2000s run of races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which always felt as though the grand prix paddock was merely squatting in IndyCar’s brick backyard - even before the tyre debacle of 2005.

A great deal of the success has been built off the critical and public acclaim garnered by the Netflix smash hit ‘Drive to Survive’ since it first aired in 2019. But after four seasons of increasing poetic licence to fabricate radio messages and rivalries, the positivity towards the show has nosedived. Series one gained a score on Rotten Tomatoes of 90%. As of the most recent fourth instalment, it has declined to 15%.

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Author Matt Kew

Matt Kew is Autosport’s F1 Editor, a role he has held since March 2022 following stints covering Formula E, Extreme E and the British Touring Car Championship.

Matt joined Autosport in 2018 to work predominantly on the magazine, but his relentless quoting of Alan Partridge meant office colleagues soon thought he would be better-suited to increased field work.

Needless to say, Matt had the last laugh when he won the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award in 2019.

His interest in motorsport was sparked by regular trips to watch ASCAR crash around Rockingham’s banked oval.

Matt read politics and philosophy at the University of Sheffield - receiving first-class honours for his dissertation assessing the lack of female participation in top-tier motor racing.

He covered a wide variety of national race and rally meetings for Autosport as a freelancer before joining full-time. His best efforts to argue the merits of historic racing are undone by a questionable taste in music and James Bond actors.