Producers of the Netflix hit Drive to Survive “aren’t planning for an finish” to the sequence whereas it retains delivering for Method 1.
Every week earlier than the beginning of the brand new F1 marketing campaign, the eighth season of the long-running breakout hit was launched on Netflix, a shortened eight-episode sequence following the 2025 marketing campaign – as ever produced by Field to Field Movies.
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The success of Netflix’s first foray into F1 is well-documented by now, with Season 7’s viewership of over 10 million leaving each different sports activities franchise within the mud.
Opinions of Season 8 have been blended, with the present persevering with to divide diehard F1 followers and the newcomers F1 and its makers try to lure into the game. However so long as the present achieves the latter goal, its makers do not see any purpose to alter their strategy.
“You need to very early settle for the very fact you are not going to please all people,” stated Tom Rogers, Field to Field’s director of post-production.
“The fact is that the core die-hard followers, inevitably, could have some grievances with some stuff that is in there. However we’re probably not focusing on the folks which can be already enthusiastic about Method 1.
Carlos Sainz, Williams, Alex Albon, Williams, Drive to Survive Season 8
Photograph by: Netflix
“This was at all times the type of entry level for brand new followers. We wish to flip informal followers into avid followers, and non-fans into informal followers. And I feel we have achieved that. So long as we maintain that contemporary tackle the paddock, I feel it’ll proceed to achieve success.
“It is uncommon for Netflix reveals to get to a Season 8, and I feel it speaks volumes concerning the recognition of the present, but in addition the game.”
That does not imply the entire criticism leveraged in opposition to the present from educated followers, starting from editorial incongruences to pulling soundbites and pictures out of context to fire up drama, is solely dismissed.
“Is the present excellent? No,” Rogers admitted. “Have we made errors previously? Completely. There was one final yr with Max [Verstappen]. We had the unsuitable shot from the unsuitable cool-down room. It was a real error. As quickly because it was identified to us, we fastened it.
Max Verstappen, Crimson Bull Racing, Drive to Survive Season 8
Photograph by: Netflix
“It turns into a giant information story, however there is not any conspiracy. We’re not attempting to type of sew folks up. It’s human error and we put extra processes in place yearly to try to mitigate that. We now have [markers] throughout all of our footage which says which grand prix it got here from. So if it is from the unsuitable grand prix, it’s totally apparent as a result of it says it on the display screen after we’re modifying. It is in all of our pursuits to do pretty much as good a job as we presumably can.”
The success of Apple’s F1 film is as one other lever to convey new followers into the sequence in the important thing North American market. That runway for additional development signifies that as lengthy F1 retains delivering for Netflix and vice versa, a sundown for Drive to Survive does not appear to be on the quick horizon.
“We’re typically requested: ‘Do we predict it is run its course? However as a lot as we have grown the American market, I might argue there’s nonetheless a protracted technique to go within the American market,” Rogers stated. “It seems like Method 1 is constant to go from energy to energy. Hopefully, Drive to Survive will proceed alongside Method 1 in that respect.
“We’re not planning for an finish. Issues naturally have a finite period, however there’s nothing on the horizon that we learn about. Whereas it continues to make sense for Method 1, for Netflix, for the groups; as I’ve stated, the American market, I feel we have scratched the floor. There’s monumental development potential there.”
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