🏟 The Impact of “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” and How it Changed the Sport
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Executive Brief: Season 4 of Netflix’s “Formula One: Drive to Survive” dropped this weekend. The show’s massive success since 2019 has propelled the sport into the North American market and has served as a catalyst and case study for digital-first content strategies across the sports and entertainment space. Today’s newsletter talks about the show and its impact on the sport and North American viewers. Enjoy!
The Business of Formula One
By now, you have probably heard of Formula One (F1).
If you like action, drama, underdog stories, politics, and big personalities. Formula One is for you.
F1 is the highest class of international auto racing, a pillar of luxury with partners ranging from Emirates Airline & Group to Rolex, and Ferrari, Aston Martin, Mercedes, and McLaren, among others, as teams.
F1 is one of the most diverse sports leagues globally despite having so few teams and drivers, with drivers coming from all over the world. There are 15 countries represented overall among the 20 drivers that race week-to-week, and many more within the paddock (cockpit) and teams.
Season 4 of the show dropped on Netflix this weekend, so this week’s newsletter will talk about the significant impact the show has had on F1’s growth in North America.
Formula One’s inaugural season was in 1950. The world “formula” in the name refers to the set of rules to which all participants’ cars must conform. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grand Prix, which take place worldwide on purpose-built circuits and closed public roads.
A points system is used at Grands Prix to determine two annual World Championships: one for drivers, the other for constructors. Formula 1 cars are the fastest regulated road-course racing cars globally, with top speeds reaching 350 km/h.
The average cost of running a team – designing, building, and maintaining cars, pay, transport, and other expenses – is around $250 million per year. These stakes lead to significant financial and political battles in the sport, with top teams investing whatever it takes to win.
In terms of popularity, the sport has grown worldwide since its inception in 1950. However, it had never broached mainstream interest in North America until around 2019, after Netflix released its docuseries “Formula One: Drive to Survive.”
In early 2017, Liberty Media agreed to buy a controlling interest in the Formula One Group for $4.4 billion. Some reports suggest that the deal ended up closing at $8 billion with Liberty Media taking over and removing then-CEO and ownership leader Bernie Ecclestone who had been in charge for almost 40 years.
Chase Carey became the new CEO, and Liberty Media’s team strategized to move F1 forward using a digital-first approach to engage new fans in different countries and integrate youth viewership.
Bernie Ecclestone built F1 for over 40 years into the high-level sport before Liberty Media took over. However, critics were consistently on him about the sport’s inability to evolve into the digital landscape.
Netflix’s Formula One: Drive to Survive
Liberty Media’s investment came around the same time Haas F1 Team joined the Formula One World Championship in 2016 as they became the first American Formula One team in more than 30 years. Liberty Media partnered with Box to Box Films and Netflix to produce “Formula One: Drive to Survive” focusing on their digital-first approach.
Since then, I don’t think they could have predicted what the show would do for their North American market.
Created by Box to Box films, Netflix’s Drive to Survive provides a behind-the-scenes look at the circuit that uses the world as its playground, highlighting the action and giving context to storylines that emerge both on and off the course.
The show offers scary moments like Romain Grosjean’s fiery wreck that almost cost him his life, high moments like Championship wins, political moments like drivers switching teams, or teams firing drivers for younger up-and-coming stars.
Drive to Survive mixes America’s favourite interests: drama, politics, underdog stories, money, high-fashion, and competition.
The numbers tell the story too.
ESPN and Sky Sports partnered to air races dating back to 2018. The outlets confirmed that the 2021 season averaged around 931,000 viewers through 14 races, which is 53% higher than the 2020 average and 40% higher than the first 14 comparable races in 2019.
While we can’t point to a direct correlation, there is no doubt that Drive to Survive launching in 2019 positively affected these numbers.
Why?
The additional content reached a wide array of audiences on Netflix compared to F1’s traditional audience. The show increased awareness and interest and incentivized viewers to watch the actual races because they are live drama situations that will later be told from behind-the-scenes when that season’s show airs the following offseason.
The show also indirectly promoted the Haas F1 Team and made it a significant part of the series in a perfect storm. Their storyline became fascinating because they were the youngest and smallest team, and they are American.
The fascinating thing about the show is that it introduced the sport to non-traditional audiences, including youth and women, thanks to Drive to Survive being on Netflix.
Netflix is protective of its numbers, but there has been plenty of anecdotal evidence of new F1 fans saying, “I saw it on Netflix.”
The numbers agree.
The United States Grand Prix sold out weeks before the event in 2021, almost unheard of before 2019. The growth in the U.S. will only increase with F1 adding another race in Miami in 2022, with a potential third race coming in future years.
As for youth and women’s interests, the 2021 Global F1 Fan Survey tells the story. Drive to Survive has moved the needle for both demographics thanks to the digital-first approach. In the 2021 survey, 160,000 people responded. The survey had its highest female participation ever, accounting for 18% of respondents, compared to 10% four years ago.
The online conversation around F1 is now driven mainly by the 18-24 demographic, accounting for almost 40% of mentions in the U.S. This is closely followed by 25-35, who make up an additional 25% of the audience.
The increased representation of women noted in the 2021 Global F1 Fan Survey is also apparent online. While demographic data still skews towards men, nearly 20% of online conversations involve women. These statistics are expected to trend upwards as the sport makes itself more women and youth-friendly.
Formula One launched in TikTok in 2020, and it’s already at 3.6 million fans. Combining its social media strategy with its Netflix show should lead to continued growth and interest from the youth and female demographics.
Why does the show work?
First, you learn about the people involved, from drivers to owners. Nothing is more relatable than meeting people. It’s tough to get people to care about brands and race cars. But people, that’s the magic.
Another reason it works, for me, is that it’s authentic. While there is a bit of luck and dramatic flair, most of the filming takes place in the regular run of a race week or weekend. These are live sports, unscripted, and show raw natural scenes of drivers, pit crews, and team members in their real-life characters. It’s hard not to relate to that.
Box to Box Films captures the content in-season, so it’s live, but they also can build out the storylines after the fact if they need to.
Most of the teams and drivers have bought in, making it much more engaging.
Then, there’s the driving itself. The drivers and team members live an extremely high-pressure life, and the room for error is razor-thin. The drama is built-in with drivers switching teams and championships constantly on the line.
Compound this with the fact that these are young handsome, charismatic drivers hopping in a car going 350 km/h through the classic streets of Monaco, or Singapore at night, and you have a highly appealing visual product.
These are the fastest cars in the world, the best drivers globally, there’s massive glitz and glam, and travelling the world one race at a time.
What’s not to enjoy about that?
Netflix, F1, Drive to Survive, and new fans worldwide agree — nothing.
Thank you for reading. Have a great day, and we’ll talk next week!
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Kendal
Question of the Day
Have you watched any episodes of “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”? If not, will you?
Games of the Week
NBA
Mon, March 14: Denver Nuggets @ Philadelphia 76ers
Wed, March 16: Boston Celtics @ Golden State Warriors
NHL
Tues, March 15: Colorado Avalanche @ Los Angeles Kings at 10:30 p.m. (E.T.)
Thurs, March 17: Carolina Hurricanes @ Toronto Maple Leafs @ 7:00 p.m. (E.T.)
Great read as always. I love how you discuss all sports and their current affairs and can incorporate technology, stats and a social angle. I know for myself personally I've added "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" to my list on Netflix :)