Write To Survive

Formula 1 is the fastest and highest level of motorsport racing. Travelling around the world, fans follow their favourite drivers and teams as they battle it out to become the next Formula 1 World Champion, one of motorsport's most prestigious titles. During the 2018 season, Netflix documented the fast-paced, action packed World Championship and released the docu-series Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Friday March 8th, only one week before the first race of the 2019 season.

The last race in most Formula 1 seasons is Abu Dhabi, which last year happened to be on the 25th of November, leaving approximately 4 months between the 2 seasons, so the excitement behind the docu-series definitely had time to build up. The trailer which was released on February 20th announced the release date for the series, which led to a lot of talk between F1 fans on social media sites and pages such as Reddit and Facebook. The trailer showed a sneak peek into the show, hinting at what events are going to be showcased but didn't give too much away, which is something that a lot of other trailers should learn from.

Last year's F1 season had 10 teams with 2 drivers each competing across 21 races to gain enough points to achieve the title of World Champion; the drivers competing amongst themselves while the team are also competing for the coveted Constructors World Champion title. This obviously creates tension between members, as while they are competing to be better than each other, they also have to work together for the better of the team. This internal tension and anger between friends and team mates was captured perfectly in Drive to Survive as it told us the stories of drivers on and off the track.

A lot of the expectations towards the series were that it was going to be a recap of last year's narrative, yet it did more than that. It took us behind the scenes and introduced us to the stressed-out managers, to the angry team boss's, and to the foot-twitching mothers. It showed us some of the drivers' stories; from their young karting days, where some families had to sell their homes to fund their child's dreams all the way to the previous major successes of drivers over-shadowing the current careers of drivers. Due to Netflix focusing on certain drivers and teams per weekends, we were also able to listen in on conversations and phone calls, as team principals and pit-crew had previously been mic'd up to ensure natural interactions between the team.

The documentary excels at portraying the narratives of drivers and investing you emotionally into the sport, yet a major contribution to it is a little creative leeway with the facts. Drive to Survive shows us true stories and events but thanks to brilliant editing, narratives are enhanced to further Netflix's affinity for drama. While the sport does naturally contain drama, and the show does expose some behind-the-scenes disputes, some arguments are blown a little out of proportion and the emotions elevated due to certain cuts. For example, one scene shows a driver pushing a camera away after a crash but thanks to the shot ending early, what we don't see is that the driver was pulling the cameraperson so they wouldn't walk into a pole.

But does this make the show any worse or make it lose any of its credibility? Of course not. Every producer has an agenda they want to push, no matter how "good" or "bad" it is, facts will be twisted, hidden, or even highlighted so they can get their way. In The King of Kong, a documentary about video game high scores, Billy Mitchell was shown in a villainous light to create a story between the characters. Cowspiracy, a documentary all about the pollution which live-stock breeding causes inflates its numbers to try and get the viewer on their side, fuelling anger towards these big companies.

Drive to Survive recaps the emotional side of the sport, trying to draw in new viewers without over exposing the audience to a lot of times, points, and positions. It focuses mostly on the drivers that you may not see a lot when watching the races, the "mid-field" teams that are more relatable instead of the true Championship contenders, Ferrari and Mercedes. While it is definitely worth a watch, Formula 1: Drive to Survive delivers an emotional story, but sometimes forgets to be a documentary.