Drive to Survive: The series that doesn’t require pit stops

From the dramatic end to the 2021 season between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen to the horrific and shocking crash of Romain Grosjean in Bahrain, the Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’ has given us so many unforgettable moments. Since launching in 2019, the behind-the-scenes documentary has created a cult following among Formula 1 fans.

There have been four seasons of the documentary; every season becoming more thrilling than the previous. It has introduced a new generation of fans who probably didn’t care for the sport before. Due to this, the sport has become increasingly popular and the television figures from across the world prove this.

Drive To Survive S4 Premier. Picture Source: Getty Images

According to ESPN, the average viewing figures of the races in the USA have increased massively from 547,000 in 2018 to 928,000 in 2021; the same period in which all four seasons were filmed.

Not only is the USA seeing this influx, but the year-on-year cumulative audience is also increasing elsewhere. Statistics from Formula 1 highlight that the Netherlands, France, Italy and the UK are gaining an increase of 81%, 48%, 40% and 39% respectively.

Due to this high number of new fans, a career in the sport is becoming the target for many people; specifically engineering.

Operations Manager Craig Yeardly and Head of Aerodynamics Andrew Smith are a part of the University of Strathclyde Motorsport (USM) team; Yeardly spoke about what the USM is all about and how it first originated.

He said: “We’re a student-led team that designs, builds, markets and races a single-seater race car every year. We do that at Silverstone in the summer against all the UK universities and some universities from abroad.

“We initially started with a combustion vehicle about 20 years ago as one of the oldest Formula Student teams, in Scotland at least. A lot of people do come into the team with that goal of getting into Formula 1.”

At the USM, the mindsets and targets are varied among all the members. Smith discussed the inspiration behind building the team.

He said: “The competition (Formula Student) is posed as an engineering design challenge so some people are just interested in engineering, they don’t really care about Formula 1 or cars.

“However, you’ll also get people who aren’t maybe doing engineering as their degree but they really like Formula 1 so there are a lot of different reasons as to why someone would get involved.”

Competing at the Silverstone Circuit has been a massive achievement for the USM in which the group were able to win an award in relation to the design and engineering of their car. Yeardly and Smith both spoke about the emotions of the team and how the day was one of their biggest accomplishments.

Yeardly said: “It was the cost and manufacture event so it is how well you manufactured and financially planned your car. It was our first event win in over eight years which was a big deal for the team and something we were very proud of.

“On a more personal level for myself and Andrew who both worked on the aerodynamics, it was a great feeling when it all came together. We used a lot of composite materials which we don’t get to use or learn much about within university so building that knowledge throughout the team and actually producing something on this car looks amazing.”

Smith said: “Out of the main aerodynamic assemblies, the rear wing was the one we finished first and that was a fun afternoon in which all parts were done and bolted together and we took some pictures of it outside. That was a fun, morale-boosting afternoon.”

With the majority of the team having watched the documentary, Yeardly shared his thoughts on it and how the opinions can vary amongst the die-hard and casual fans.

He said: “It’s an excellent way to get the behind-the-scenes action and you can see why it’s really engaging and interesting.

“What we’ve found over the years as its progressed is that it has become that Hollywood style of creating stories and films rather than the true story. Something the casual fan wouldn’t pick up on.

“It’s not a bad thing for the series as a whole but from our point of view, we’ve maybe been enjoying it less but we’re still watching it.”

Taking into account the viewing figures of the sport and the documentary, it was a resounding answer from Yeardly and Smith on whether they felt the series has increased the popularity.

Yeardly said: “Yes and I’ll go into detail about our team specifically. In the first year it came out, it was our biggest recruitment of about 150 people. The year after was 180 and just over the last year, we recruited 240 people which is insane numbers.

“When people watch the series and they’re like ‘that’s really cool, I want to join Formula 1, they’ll look up some of the roles in Formula 1. Some of them are engineering so they’ll try and think about how they can become one.

“Generally, most of my friends were not interested in the sport at all and now they’re Formula 1 mad and will watch every race.”

Smith said: “You would probably expect this in a motorsport society but it does seem as if everyone I talk to has seen it. Maybe they were Formula 1 fans already or not but it does feel that most people have watched it.”

Drivers on podium at the Miami GP. Picture source: Getty Images

As well as the increasing desire of achieving a job in the engineering and mechanical department of Formula 1, more people are looking at becoming aspiring writers as they dream of reporting from the paddock at some of the sports' biggest races.

Rhonan Colquhoun, a student journalist at Edinburgh Napier University, has been writing about his passion for just under a decade. Colquhoun spoke about how he got into watching Formula 1 and some of his earliest memories from it.

He said: “I got into the sport because my mum was a huge fan of it. She watched a lot of it during the 1990s and was a big fan of Damon Hill. I’m not sure how I stumbled across it but one day she was watching it on a Sunday and I came through and sat down next to her.

“Since then I’ve developed quite a passion and it's become a hobby. My earliest memories from it would probably be when Lewis Hamilton won the championship in 2008.

Hamilton winning F1 championship in 2008. Picture source: Getty Images

“The 2009 season had various moments as well; one moment, in particular, was the Italian Grand Prix where on the penultimate lap, Hamilton crashed and I remember running outside to tell my mum who was a big Hamilton fan saying ‘He’s crashed, he crashed'.”

With the sport containing a lot of emotion and intensity, there’s no surprise why Formula 1 is a fascinating display. Colquhoun discussed why he gets so much excitement from the sport he loves.

He said: “It’s about the team game and I think in 2009, they were still doing refuelling back then which always brought a lot of spice to it. The strategy plays a massive part as well with the different tyres of compound and all the elements have to come together to make the strategy work.

“With the rivalry, I was watching the Grand Prix on Sunday (Brazilian Grand Prix) and seeing that Hamilton and Verstappen were going side by side and I leapt out of my seat, shouting at the TV so its whole overall spectacle of it.”

Despite becoming a huge admirer of Formula 1, it was actually advice from Colquhoun’s parents that helped him start a career in sports journalism. He started his first blog in 2015 and hasn’t looked back since.

He said: “In 2014, there was a particular race I watched and I thought ‘Oh, I’m going to write about that’ so I walked to my dad’s office and just started typing.

“A year went on and my writing started to improve and my mum and dad said that if I was enjoying it so much, they’d help me get a blog started. I called it Rhonan’s Ragged Edge and that ran for a couple of years.”

When Colquhoun first watched the documentary, he felt it was a really good way of getting new viewers into the sport and the production side of the series was well orchestrated. However, just like Craig Yeardly and Andrew Smith from the USM, he shared some criticisms of it.

He said: “Watching back older episodes, I noticed that the creators do make it as dramatic as possible. For example, there were certain times when max Verstappen said something during a race and I thought ‘Oh, he didn’t say that during the Bahrain Grand Prix, he actually said it at the Spanish Grand Prix’ so there are definitely some inaccuracies.

Verstappen winning his 1st F1 championship. Picture Source: Getty Images

“They created the rivalry between former McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz which was absolute rubbish but the spectacle to increase the viewership and get new fans on board, I think it's done well although I still do have a mixed opinion over it.”

The USA has benefited the most from ‘Drive to Survive’ as they are now building a much larger fan base than its used to and with three races taking place in the country next season, it is an exciting time for American supporters.

Colquhoun discussed how the documentary has had a positive impact around the world and how the popularity of the series highlights that.

He said: “After season one, viewership in the United States went up by 18% and that number keeps growing so there is definitely a case to be made there.

“Netflix has definitely helped the viewership in America as it gains popularity. It has also improved the popularity of the drivers; Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo have gained a big presence, appearing on chat shows and stuff.

“In the UK, they’ve (Netflix) done a good job as well. Formula 1 is quite a well-known sport over here but it has more than surely opened the eyes of many new fans as well.”

‘Drive to Survive’ has been a massive success around the world and it plays a huge part in the life of many Formula 1 fans. With season five arriving in early 2023, there’s no doubt we will be met with even more electrifying moments.

Legendary motorsport commentator David Croft starts every Grand Prix with his iconic trademark quote, “It’s lights out and away we go”. It perfectly encapsulates the performance of the documentary as it continues to strive forward as being one of the most entertaining and enjoyable series to watch every year.