Formula 1: Drive to Survive season four just dropped. Here’s why people are obsessed – ABC News
The new season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive just dropped and your feed is about to be filled with a surprising amount of fast car chat.
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The new season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive just dropped and your feed is about to be filled with a surprising amount of fast car chat.
But why? Just, why?
What is it?
Drive to Survive is *technically* a docu-series (more on that later) that follows the 10 Formula 1 teams as they compete to win the 2018, 2019, 2020 and now 2021 world championships.
It’s part-race recaps, part behind-the-scenes looks at drivers and the teams behind them, and part-F1 explainer.
As of today, it’s into its fourth season. About a million people reportedly tuned in to watch the third.
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Why do people care?
Meg: The obvious answer to that is that people care about Formula 1, right?
I mean, the final race last year clocked 108.7 million viewers. It makes sense that those same people would want to watch a show about what goes on behind the scenes.
But is the show also interesting to people who don’t care about F1 (ie. me)? Where did you stand going in?
Yaz: I did not care about F1 before stumbling across Drive to Survive. It had always seemed so ridiculous to me — and that’s why I decided to watch it ironically one day in lockdown last year.
But then somewhere along the way I started taking it all very seriously. That is to say, I became obsessed.
I follow all the not-evil drivers on Instagram now. And when my boyfriend watches YouTube videos about F1 regulation decisions and car advancements I … don’t not pay attention. Turns out I’m not the only one.
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Meg: I love that! There’s such a slippery slope between ironic and genuine enjoyment.
But what is it that turned you?
Yaz: I can’t put it better than Byrd Pinkerton did in this Vox piece: “Imagine the Real Housewives, if the housewives were driving at 300 kilometres an hour and if occasionally one of the housewives caught on fire.”
The show’s basically non-stop interpersonal and inter-team drama involving hyper-masculine, sickeningly rich and often toxic characters. Except for Lewis Hamilton, Daniel Ricciardo and Cyril Abiteboul, who are angels.
So you start to root for them as they get into these refreshingly real (for reality TV) spats with their opponents and teammates. Honourable mentions go to Abiteboul and Christian Horner taking shots at each other during press conferences and Ricciardo and Max Verstappen’s awful teammate rivalry, which led to a crash in 2018.
This happens against the backdrop of all the teams dealing with frustrating regulation drama, budget inequality and things rarely going to plan.
Meg: But this is a docu-series not a “reality show”, right? Or, after a few seasons, has the line kind of blurred?
Yaz: It’s definitely blurred in my mind.
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Meg: So it’s mostly about the relationships behind the scenes rather than the driving. Makes sense.
I’ve only watched the first ep of the first season (really did my research for this one), but the most compelling part was watching Ricciardo’s mum get so worried each time he races!
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Yaz: I would say it is, yeah, but the vroom vroom scenes are also a really important part because they add SUSPENSE.
Things seem to go horribly wrong very often so you have no idea whether the drivers you’re rooting for will win, place, or even survive the race. Knowing that is part of what’s so compelling about the show too — while watching it I kept asking myself: “How could they want to drive the fastest car so bad they’d risk their lives for it?”
So you get the drama and absolute ridiculous behaviour you’d expect from any reality show, as well as these nailbiting moments. And you also learn about cars. Did you know the ones we drive are developed off the back of advancements in F1?
Meg: Wow, this sounds like a great marketing exercise for the Formula 1.
Yaz: I mean, yes, that’s surely what this entire show is about. But I would argue that doesn’t mean we can’t also enjoy it!
I never thought I’d say it, but honestly I’ve come around: F1 is entertaining. Also, F1 drivers are athletes — take a look at these neck workouts they do to keep their necks lookin’ buff.
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Should you care?
Yaz: If you’ve previously enjoyed any form of high-stakes reality TV before, and are in the mood to get hooked on something new that doesn’t rely on samey plots and bad scripting, I think you’ll love Drive to Survive — even if you’re not a sport person.
Meg: I wasn’t really hooked by the first episode, but I won’t rule it out completely! It’s the kind of thing I could see myself accidentally falling into given one more lockdown or stint in iso.
I will however, as a compromise, start following Daniel Ricciardo on Instagram.
Yaz: Your life will be better for it.
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