Formula One has seen massive levels of popularity in the past couple of years. This has been thanks to in part – the Netflix series Drive to Survive among others. All over social media, in stores and at motoring festivals, the popularity has been clear to see. If you are wondering what all the fuss is about and looking for a gateway into the sport, here are some things to watch (aside from the actual races obviously).
Drive to Survive
With four seasons out, Netflix’s Drive To Survive is the perfect entry point if you don’t know anything about the sport. The show’s first season revolves around the 2018 Formula One season with the latest season covering the 2021 season. The show has been renewed for two more seasons so the current 2022 season will likely be coming out sometime early next year. Drive to Survive takes viewers into the team politics from driver and team rivalries to the actual races and everything in between. The show is over-dramatised at times especially with its focus on certain teams and drivers at particular points of the season. However, on the whole, it’s a great introduction to the sport and all the drivers and teams.
F1TV documentaries
Another place to start is with the mini documentaries and shows produced by the official F1TV channel. F1TV is a platform that gives access to all the races live and full race replays on subscription. However, even if you do not want to take out the subscription, F1TV uploads many of the highlights and documentaries to their YouTube channels. The documentaries follow fantastic victories of drivers, countdowns and profiles. Some of the countdowns include the greatest races of specific seasons and specific drivers. A recent documentary series on the channel shows young aspirant drivers on the journey to make it onto the Formula One circuit.
Schumacher
This documentary also on Netflix focuses on one of the most famous Formula One drivers, Michael Schumacher. It follows the life and career of the seven-time Formula One world champion. It came out in 2021 and was released on the 30th anniversary of the German driver’s entry into Formula 1 racing. The doccie features interviews with his family including son, Mick (who is a current F1 driver), friends, and people within the sport. It looks at Schumacher’s rise up the ranks and dominance in the sport as a Scuderia Ferrari driver. The documentary also looks at the tragic accident Schumacher suffered in 2013 while skiing in France.
Senna
The Brazilian racer, Ayrton Senna is considered one of the greatest Formula One drivers. He won the World Drivers’ Championship in 1988, 1990, and 1991. Senna also won 41 Grands Prix and 65 pole positions. The 2010 documentary follows his life from 1984 to his death in 1994. Senna was tragically killed in 1994 when his car crashed into the barrier at the Imola Grand Prix. The documentary made use of previously unseen footage and archival racetrack footage and home video clips provided by the Senna family. This is as opposed to retrospective video interviews. The documentary also has no formal commentary.
Rush
This is the only inclusion on this list which is not a documentary. It’s a movie that follows the intense rivalry between British driver James Hunt and Austrian driver Niki Lauda in 1976. Released in 2013, the movie stars Chris Hemsworth as Hunt and Daniel Brühl as Lauda. Rush focuses on the 1976 season when Hunt was racing for Mclaren and Lauda for Scuderia Ferrari. There is a focus on the horrific racing accident Lauda suffered at the German Grand Prix. Lauda’s car crashed into an embankment and burst into flames. Lauda managed to return to racing that season as the rivalry continued. In archive footage at the end of the film, Hunt and Lauda appear as themselves, in the 1970s and 1980s. Lauda is also seen for a few seconds in contemporary (2013) footage.
The movie does contain several historical inaccuracies and inventions.
