FORMULA 1 2020 is in limbo with no clear start date on the horizon. But this doesn’t mean that you cannot get your F1 fix elsewhere.
Drive to Survive is a 10-part documentary series produced by streaming giant Netflix.
With unprecedented access to the teams during the 2018 season, the series offers a striking portrait of the world’s premier racing series. The target audience isn’t restricted only to dedicated F1 fans either, as the slick production and level of insight to the sport will appeal to most.
What is likely to be most appealing about the docu-series is its focus on several perspectives within Formula 1. Though Mercedes and Ferrari were not keen on being involved in the first season they did sign on for the second that has the 2019 season as its central focus.
Nevertheless, it reveals the highs and lows of the sport in beautifully produced high definition.
Each episode has a mini-theme. In season one the changing of the guard from Fernando Alonso to Carlos Sainz is demonstrated with an episode focused on the Spanish drivers, with recounting of Alonso’s career and Sainz’s admiration of the two-time champion woven throughout.
Another episode follows Daniel Ricciardo as he wrestles with the decision of staying with Red Bull or moving on elsewhere.
It details Red Bull’s Christian Horner’s shock at Ricciardo’s move to Renault and the bitter, often amusing, hostility he has with Renault team principal, Cyril Abiteboul. The saga of Force India and its battle to survive is another topic covered, as well as the nasty on-track battle between Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon.
It’s made a star of an unlikely character too – Haas F1’s team principal, Guenther Steiner. His unvarnished authenticity leaps off the screen in a manner unprecedented for a sport that most often presents the stiff upper lip. The episode focuses on Haas, covers Romain Grosjean’s struggles, and shows Steiner nearly at wits end with the French driver.
After several errors and zero points on the board Steiner admits that he is seriously thinking of replacing Grosjean for 2019.
With the benefit of hindsight we know that this did not happen.
But what makes Steiner the star of this series isn’t necessarily his spouting of colourful language but rather the demonstration of the passion for the sport and the absolute hunger for success.
It comes as no surprise that the second season of the docu-series, released earlier this year, starts off with Haas and Guenther Steiner as the American team struggle to overcome a difficult start to the season.
There is a look too at the second half of Alex Albon and Pierre Gasly’s 2019 seasons and an episode that delves into Williams’s struggle. Mercedes and Ferrari’s participation in the second season allows for a fuller picture and the series presents an intriguing look at Mercedes during the dramatic German Grand Prix weekend.
One of the biggest talking points of 2019 was undoubtedly the battle for supremacy between Ferrari teammates Seb Vettel and Charles Leclerc, which is covered in episode seven, entitled Seeing Red.
Drive to Survive is visually exquisite and presents 20 episodes which are simultaneously compelling and undeniably entertaining.
Both seasons of the documentary series are available on Netflix.
