F1 News: Netflix Drive To Survive Under Severe Criticism From Expert - "Democratised Formula 1"

The Formula 1 expert hints at a major factor that could leave new fans frustrated.

Mark Gallagher, an F1 executive and business expert, believes that Netflix's Drive to Survive docuseries has democratized Formula 1 in a way that presents a somewhat misleading portrayal of the sport. Contrary to the series' depiction, Gallagher argues that F1 has largely been dominated by Red Bull and Max Verstappen.

Red Bull's period of dominance commenced in 2021, with Max Verstappen clinching the championship title in a closely contested battle against Lewis Hamilton, an event extensively covered by Netflix.

In the previous season, the Milton Keynes outfit triumphed in 21 out of the 22 Grand Prix events, primarily due to the formidable RB19 car and the exceptional performance of Max Verstappen, who claimed victory in 19 races. The remaining two wins were achieved by his teammate, Sergio Perez.

Thus, the last three years in F1 were all about Red Bull clinching victories but, Gallagher thinks that the Drive to Survive docuseries portrays Formula 1 differently by dedicating each episode to a single team and its drivers. It glorifies an 'all are winners' notion, but in reality, Red Bull has been taking away the victories. This crucial factor is something that the expert feels could frustrate new fans. 

Speaking on the Flat Chat podcast. Gallagher explained:

“My view on it [Drive to Survive] is that the series is a 10-part television commercial for Formula 1.

“One of the things about Drive to Survive is it democratised Formula 1, so one episode would be about Haas; another episode would be about Alpine; another episode would be about Alfa Romeo; another episode would be about Mercedes.

“It’s drawn in fans fascinated by these 10 teams and these 20 drivers – but then you go to an actual race and Max Verstappen wins and Red Bull totally dominates.

“There’s a couple of other quite competitive teams behind and then, quite frankly, the bottom end of the grid.

“So you’ve got a sport which has presented itself as this level playing field where everyone is in with a shout on the Netflix series, but actually the sporting/entertainment side of it is the technical meritocracy that we all know so well.

“I think [2023 was] quite devastating for Formula 1. Brilliant for Red Bull, but devastating for Formula 1 because here we are [reflecting] on Max’s 19th grand prix [win] of the season.

“And all of a sudden, those records that we used to talk about from McLaren, winning 15 out of 16 races in 1988, has just all completely been blown away."

He goes on to explain that the docuseries has made it more difficult for new fans to become "diehard" fans. He added:

“Fans around the periphery, fans who have been initially switched on to Formula 1, for those fans to then be converted into diehard, that’s the next step and it’s challenging.

“There have been a few commentators – even in America – talking about the fact that Formula 1 has built this crescendo, but there’s now a threat hanging over it because the dyed-in-the-wool fans, the fanbase who really understand Formula 1 and have followed it for years and years and years will stick with it through thick and thin.

“Whereas the more transitory fans who have come into perhaps in the last two years may just suddenly now start to find that it isn’t compelling enough to make them want to watch all the races and indeed, in this case, turn up to Miami, Austin, Las Vegas and actually buy some tickets.”

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