TV shows we love: Drive To Survive

Action-packed, fast-paced, and full of twists and turns. Sounding like Hollywood superheroes, the protagonists of Netflix’s docu-series Drive To Survive can indeed be considered heroes, or villains depending on your allegiance!

The successful series, produced in a collaboration between the streaming giant and Formula One, aims to give a behind-the-scenes look at the drivers and races of the most prestigious motorsport championship around the globe.

The first season covered the 2018 World Championship, the second the 2019 World Championship, while the third season, which debuted on March 19, depicted the 2020 World Championship, that despite being marred by the coronavirus pandemic still managed to engage fans.

Granted, to fully enjoy the entire spectrum of themes and topics emerging throughout the series, one should have some knowledge of the sport, as the raw numbers and data that feature heavily in the narrative can only make sense to the competent aficionado.

However, the compelling storylines and rivalries between pilots can be easily enjoyed by the novice viewer too. In fact, Drive To Survive might end up attracting new fans to the sport.

With all sports partially on hold throughout last year, the series needed to adapt in season 3. And it surely delivered! Tales of the fall and rise among pilots and cars alike, clever tactical strategies, drivers losing their seats after disappointing races, there’s enough material for everyone to enjoy.

An added bonus is the surprising humorous side of Formula One, as drivers and managers are constantly up for a bit of banter among themselves.

What comes out as a result is a faithful portrait of a complicated sport, one that we often struggle to fully comprehend or even enjoy, especially if we take into account Lewis Hamilton’s dominion in the past seven years.

If anything, Drive To Survive will make you fully appreciate the efforts, the struggles and the ambition of those 20 pilots who fight each other on different tracks around the world, while making it seems so effortless. Spoiler alert: it is not!