How Netflix is making Formula 1 great again

AutoConsultant · 21st November 2021, 22:16

I have been an auto enthu guy for more than 15 years and have always known about F1 from the outside. I even went to the 2013 qualifying in BIC but had no context about the championship fight going that year, just wanted to see the fast cars

Bing watched the first 2 seasons of DTS in Feb last year and have been closely following the sport since then. Following are the points that stand out for me :-

Netflix's excellent track record with documentaries/docu-series - The Last Dance, Ted Bundy to name a couple
The visuals - watched it on my newly bought 55 inch 4K TV and the quality of race/car videos was just exceptional. I could watch the entire series only for that
Storytelling - they had to deal with the fact that their was no real title fight so they had to focus more on the sub plots which they did pretty well. They picked up stories which involved a lot of emotions with which a non-follower would easily connect

After watching the first 2 seasons and then following the entire 2020 season, I did feel that S3 was a bit dramatized and missed out on a few important bits (like Russell's weekend at Merc) but then I realised that this series is solely made to attract the new audience. F1 followers may or may not find it perfect but it does the job it was intended to do.

AutoConsultant · 24th November 2021, 13:48

How Netflix is making Formula 1 great again-screenshot_20211124134600.jpg

Great comparison. Clearly shows that new and younger fans are being added.

Akshay6988 · 24th November 2021, 13:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by kar_thikr

The only gripe I have with DTS is that it hasn't (Yet) done justice to the glorious past of this sport. I have seen people who have started watching F1 after watching DTS and speak about it like it's kind of a new sport/ trend. That perspective is clearly evident when watching an interview of any F1 drivers with the American media. The latest interview of Ricciardo with Ellen DeGeneres is a prime example of that, she portrays DR3 as some kind of a Netflix show star, other than an accomplished sporting icon, driving for a legendary team, in sports with more heritage than the NBA and NFL. It's not Ellen's fault either, because she needs her viewers to relate to the person she is interviewing.

DTS has all the tools needed to change that perception. I hope they do that to an extent. Maybe not a part of this epic season, perhaps as some additional episodes in the off-season or something.

A wild thought - maybe Netflix should work with Clarkson, May and Hammond to make one special DTS episode ( remember The Grand Tour's Jim Clarke special episode by Hammond ?) Now that would be something to watch !

Hatari · 25th November 2021, 12:16

Next year's coverage should be absolute gold.. with the amount of drama we have had!
4K adds to the show for sure.

Hope we get 4K on Hotstar for all sports.

ninjatalli · 29th November 2021, 14:04

An article - The inside story on the making of Netflix's Formula 1 Drive-to-Survive

This is quite an interesting read on the road for Netflix and the folks from F1 behind it. Gives a perspective why Season 1 didn't have Mercedes or Ferrari but focused more on Haas instead and other tidbits.

21st November 2021, 22:16	#16
AutoConsultant BHPian Join Date: Jul 2020 Location: New Delhi Posts: 256 Thanked: 1,517 Times View My Garage	Re: How Netflix is making Formula 1 great again I have been an auto enthu guy for more than 15 years and have always known about F1 from the outside. I even went to the 2013 qualifying in BIC but had no context about the championship fight going that year, just wanted to see the fast cars Bing watched the first 2 seasons of DTS in Feb last year and have been closely following the sport since then. Following are the points that stand out for me :- Netflix's excellent track record with documentaries/docu-series - The Last Dance, Ted Bundy to name a couple The visuals - watched it on my newly bought 55 inch 4K TV and the quality of race/car videos was just exceptional. I could watch the entire series only for that Storytelling - they had to deal with the fact that their was no real title fight so they had to focus more on the sub plots which they did pretty well. They picked up stories which involved a lot of emotions with which a non-follower would easily connect After watching the first 2 seasons and then following the entire 2020 season, I did feel that S3 was a bit dramatized and missed out on a few important bits (like Russell's weekend at Merc) but then I realised that this series is solely made to attract the new audience. F1 followers may or may not find it perfect but it does the job it was intended to do.
	(1) Thanks

24th November 2021, 13:48	#17
AutoConsultant BHPian Join Date: Jul 2020 Location: New Delhi Posts: 256 Thanked: 1,517 Times View My Garage	Re: How Netflix is making Formula 1 great again Great comparison. Clearly shows that new and younger fans are being added.
	(2) Thanks

25th November 2021, 12:16	#19
Hatari Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Calcutta Posts: 1,872 Thanked: 874 Times	Re: How Netflix is making Formula 1 great again Next year's coverage should be absolute gold.. with the amount of drama we have had! 4K adds to the show for sure. Hope we get 4K on Hotstar for all sports.
	() Thanks

29th November 2021, 14:04	#20
ninjatalli Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,807 Thanked: 15,614 Times View My Garage	Re: How Netflix is making Formula 1 great again An article - The inside story on the making of Netflix's Formula 1 Drive-to-Survive This is quite an interesting read on the road for Netflix and the folks from F1 behind it. Gives a perspective why Season 1 didn't have Mercedes or Ferrari but focused more on Haas instead and other tidbits.
	() Thanks