How ‘Drive to Survive’ Made Me A First-Ever Fan of Formula 1

If someone came up to me last week, tapped me on the shoulder, and said, “you’re going to be a fan of Formula 1 Racing by Monday,” I would’ve kindly suggested they were insane. What even is Formula 1 Racing? Do you mean, NASCAR?

No. Not NASCAR, which is American Stock Car auto racing. Formula 1 is a completely different monster, the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars. And now, after watching hours and hours of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, I can safely say this: Formula 1 Racing is one of the most thrilling live sporting events on the planet.

Drive to Survive, with its luxe camerawork and stunning footage, aims to put you right in the driver’s seat. With a camera set beside the vehicle’s headrest, viewers are thrust into the revved atmosphere of Formula 1. The show’s appeal is immediately intoxicating, enthralling. With dramatic narratives both on and off the track, it’s no wonder that Drive to Survive has captured the attention of fans far beyond the sport.

How did Netflix’s Drive to Survive make me into a first-ever fan of Formula 1 Racing? Let me tell you. The ride is wild.

The Grit of Formula 1: Ready, Set, Race

There is no escaping the growling engine, rubber tires shredding against pavement, the sparks cascading off the rear. Drive to Survive places us on the track with world-class Formula 1 drivers battling for their positions. We are hovering beside or above them when there are post-box malfunctions, failing engines, and of course, crashes.

Depending on how loud you have the volume, Drive to Survive vibrates your living room as the drivers race around sharp turns, narrowly clipping each other off the track. And you are right there, with the nail-biting mothers, hoping your favorite driver finishes first—or that he just comes out alive.

Formula 1 Teammates: How Driving is Drama

Every season of Formula One Racing is comprised of 21 races, 5 continents, and 20 drivers. Each team has two drivers in competition, driving the company’s vehicles. The teams Drive to Survive focus on are Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren Racing, Haas, Red Bull Racing, Aston Martin, Renault, and Williams Racing.

What, exactly, are they fighting for? Each team is competing to win the World Constructors’ Championship, which is based on the points accrued over the season from team Grand Prix results. On an individual level, every racer is competing to win the World Driver’s Championship—the highest honor awarded to the most successful F1 driver over the course of a season.

Within each team, the drivers set the tone and relationship between them. Are they teammates, competitors, or both? In Season 4 of Drive to Survive, famed Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo takes the “frenemy” approach to teammate Lando Norris—who is making a case for himself as McLaren’s best driver. Oppositely, Ferrari teammates Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc are so simpatico that viewers almost feel bad for their friendship when the two are pitted against each other on the track.

Those of you who saw Season 3 of Drive to Survive are likely still recovering from the insane competitive streak between Mercedes and Red Bull. World Champion racer Lewis Hamilton and the gung-ho rising star Max Verstappen continue their beef on the track. Red Bull Racing is closer than ever to defeating the juggernaut of Mercedes Racing, a near unthinkable feat for the smaller driving teams. Led by their enigmatic team principals Christian Horner and Toto Wolff—a real, modern day David and Goliath saga—Red Bull and Mercedes bring a sweltering heat to Season 4.

In Formula One Racing, you also have the drama of billionaire sponsors and their sons—often novice drivers whose fathers have paid millions and millions of dollars for them to be successful. On the Haas Racing team, Nikita Mazepin, son of Belarusian-Russian oligarch businessman Dmitry Mazepin, struggles to find connection with the team’s vehicle. Meanwhile, Mazepin’s Haas teammate Mick Shumacher exceeds his expectation of being a F1 legacy—the son of world champion racer Michael Shumacher.

Family legacy, competition between teammates, money. These are all elements of drama present in every, single, season, of Drive to Survive. But especially in Season 4, where certain drivers we’ve become attached to—namely Daniel Ricciardo—hit their boiling points. We don’t want to spoil too much. Let’s just say, Formula 1 Racing supplies all the necessary fuel to be one of the most compelling (and real!) dramas in live sports.

As a new Formula 1 fan, I have yet to attend my inaugural event. Many of the races take place in Europe. Drive to Survive documents most races abroad, such as the grand royalty of the Monaco Grand Prix, the golden dust of Bahrain’s Grand Prix, the lush surroundings of the British Grand Prix, and more. The landscape, and how the tracks are built into many of the world’s gorgeous cities, are yet another reason I couldn’t take my eyes off of Drive to Survive.

Where to Attend Formula 1 Racing in 2022

In North and Central America, Formula 1 fans have a few races to look forward to. The first-ever Miami Grand Prix will take place May 2022 in Miami Gardens, FL. We can’t wait to see what intensity F1 drivers bring to Florida and the East Coast. Additionally, Formula 1 will conduct their annual Canadian Grand Prix in June—an absolutely beautiful time of year to be in Montreal.

Following this summer, the U.S Grand Prix is set to return to Austin, TX in October. Finishing out the 2022 Formula 1 Racing season, for those of us in North America, is the Mexico City Grand Prix.

Each Grand Prix has its own set of records, history, and infamy. For each Formula 1 driver, the courses hold triumphs and failures they have to overcome. Like when, in 2018, Daniel Ricciardo found first place at the CDMX Grand Prix—a win that both taunts and inspires him. Or how, in 2021, famed Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton took first at the Bahrain Grand Prix and now has to defend his title in 2022.

Formula 1 Racing has no shortage of competition, drama, intrigue—not to mention speed. With cars driving over 200 mph, and crashes happening at the same rate, Formula 1 provides some of the most high-octane outcomes in sports.

Fighting for titles, money, and influence, Formula 1 Racing the their league of drivers are gunning for your attention. Don’t miss out on this wave of Formula 1 now taking over the U.S. Trust me, you’ll want to be part of all the drama to come. We’ve got you covered on this new hobby, this new obsession, with all North American Formula 1 Tickets.