Formula 1: Drive to Survive Documentary television series
Formula 1: Drive to Survive Genre Docudrama Original language English No. of seasons7 No. of episodes70 Executive producers Running time 27–51 minutes Production company Box to Box Films Network Netflix Release 8 March 2019 (2019-03-08 ) – present
Formula 1: Drive to Survive is a British television documentary series produced in a collaboration between Netflix and Formula One , to give a behind-the-scenes look at the drivers and races of the Formula One World Championship. The series has received one season per year since 2019, and a total of seven seasons have been released, with the latest season aired on 7 March 2025. A crossover event with Full Swing broadcast on Netflix in November 2023 called The Netflix Cup .
Production and concept
On 24 March 2018, Formula One announced that Netflix had commissioned a ten episode documentary-series giving an exclusive behind the scenes look at the 2018 Formula One World Championship .[ 1] [ 2] On 24 July 2019, Formula One announced that a second season would premiere in 2020 covering the 2019 Formula One World Championship , involving all 10 teams.[ 3] [ 4]
The series is executively produced by James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin for the production company, Box to Box Films. Sophie Todd is the production's showrunner.[ 5]
Gay-Rees subsequently went on to reveal to The Fast Lane Podcast that Drive to Survive had originally been conceived as a series revolving solely around Red Bull Racing before it evolved into a series about F1 in general.[ 6]
Filming began for the 2020 season in March but was suspended until July due to the COVID-19 pandemic .[ 7]
Episodes
Season 1 (2019)
Season 2 (2020)
Season 3 (2021)
Season 4 (2022)
Season 5 (2023)
Season 6 (2024)
Season 7 (2025)
Reception
The show has received recognition for the additional insight it offers fans,[ 9] and is credited with attracting new audiences (particularly American) to the sport.[ 10] [ 11] [ 12] The condensing of season-long themes into single-episode narratives has drawn praise for adapting "the natural drama of a racing season into a narrative that can encourage a fan to tune into the real thing."[ 13]
However, Drive to Survive has been criticized for including fake or misplaced commentary and team radios,[ 13] [ 14] [ 15] [ 16] staging certain scenes,[ 13] [ 17] [ 18] placing undue importance on test and practice sessions,[ 16] [ 17] and over-dramatizing or misrepresenting certain events and relationships within the Formula One paddock.[ 14] [ 16] [ 19] The continued criticism from both audiences and drivers led to discussions between Netflix and team managers and between Formula One and drivers.[ 20]
Max Verstappen notably refused to participate in interviews for seasons 3 and 4 as he believed that the show dramatized some drivers by portraying them as villains and that the show manufactured fake rivalries.[ 21] [ 22] [ 23] However, Verstappen confirmed his participation in season 5 after reaching an agreement with the producers to "keep it real".[ 23] [ 24] [ 25]
Awards and nominations
Year
Award
Category
Nominee(s)
Result
Ref.
2019
Cinema Audio Society Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Non Fiction, Variety or Music – Series or Specials
Nick Fry, Steve Speed, James Evans (for "The Next Generation)
Nominated
[ 26]
2020
British Academy Television Craft Awards
Best Sound: Factual
Nick Fry, Steve Speed, James Evans, Nick Adams
Nominated
[ 27]
Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards
Sound - Entertainment & Non Drama
Steve Speed, Nick Fry, James Evans, Hugh Dwan
Nominated
[ 28]
2021
Sports Emmy Awards
Outstanding Serialized Sports Documentary
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Nominated
[ 29]
British Academy Television Craft Awards
Best Sound: Factual
Nick Fry, Steve Speed, James Evans, Hugh Dwan
Won
[ 30]
Producers Guild of America Awards
Outstanding Sports Program
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Nominated
[ 31]
Golden Reel Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Documentary
Steve Speed, Nick Fry, Hugh Dwan, James Evans (for "Down to the Wire")
Nominated
[ 32]
Cinema Audio Society Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Non Fiction, Variety or Music – Series or Specials
Doug Dreger, Nick Fry, Steve Speed (for "Man on Fire")
Nominated
[ 33]
Royal Television Society Craft & Design Awards
Sound - Entertainment & Non Drama
Steve Speed, Nick Fry, James Evans, Hugh Dwan
Won
[ 34]
2022
American Cinema Editors Awards
Best Edited Non-Scripted Series
Dan Ablett, Kevin Austin, Otto Burnham, Shane McCormack, Graham Taylor (for "Man on Fire")
Won
[ 35]
British Academy Television Craft Awards
Best Sound: Factual
Doug Dreger, Andrew Yarme, Nick Fry, Steve Speed, Hugh Dwan, James Evans
Nominated
[ 36]
Sports Emmy Awards
Outstanding Documentary Series - Serialized
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Won
[ 37]
Outstanding Editing - Long Form
Nominated
Producers Guild of America Awards
Best Sports Program
Nominated
[ 38]
2023
Cinema Audio Society Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television Non Fiction, Variety or Music – Series or Specials
Nick Fry, Steve Speed (for "Gloves Are Off")
Won
[ 39]
Golden Reel Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Documentary
Steve Speed, Nick Fry, James Evans, Hugh Dwan (for "Gloves Are Off")
Won
[ 40]
Sports Emmy Awards
Outstanding Documentary Series - Serialized
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Nominated
[ 41]
Outstanding Audio/Sound - Post-Produced
Nominated
2024
Cinema Audio Society Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television – Non-Fiction, Variety, or Music/Series or Specials
Doug Dredger, Steve Speed, Nick Fry (for "Over the Limit")
Nominated
[ 42]
Golden Reel Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Documentary
Steve Speed, Nick Fry, Adam King, Doug Dreger, Ivan Onek, James Spooner (for "Over the Limit")
Nominated
[ 43]
Producers Guild of America Awards
Outstanding Sports Program
Formula 1: Drive to Survive
Nominated
[ 44]
Sports Emmy Awards
Outstanding Documentary Series - Serialized
Nominated
[ 45]
Outstanding Audio/Sound - Post-Produced
Nominated
2025
Cinema Audio Society Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for Television – Non-Fiction, Variety, or Music/Series or Specials
Doug Dreger, Steve Speed, Nick Fry (for "Forza Ferrari")
Pending
[ 46] [ 47]
Golden Reel Awards
Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Documentary
Nick Fry, Steve Speed, Doug Dreger, Adam King, Tom Maclellan, James Spooner (for "Forza Ferrari")
Pending
[ 48]
Spin-offs
In 2020, a series similar to Drive to Survive was released on F1 TV based on the 2019 Formula 2 Championship , called Chasing the Dream .[ 49] Subsequent second and third seasons were produced, each covering the 2020 and 2021 F2 Championships, premiering in 2021 and 2022 respectively.[ 50] [ 51] The fourth and fifth seasons, based on the 2022 and 2023 F2 Championships, were released on F1 TV as well as free-to-air on YouTube during the respective years.[ 52] [ 53] Other motorsports series have jumped on the "Drive to Survive train", with Formula E, NASCAR and IndyCar all showing their own respective docuseries.
See also
References
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