Streaming

What I’m Watching this week is Netflix’s “Formula 1: Drive To Survive” docu-series, about Formula 1 racing. I have been a NACAR fan for many years, and only had a passing interest in F1 Racing, until I saw this amazing three-season, 30-episode, series. The show covers the past few seasons of the Formula One World Championship chases, giving unprecedented access to the teams, drivers, and management behind the multinational Formula One racing organization. As you are introduced to the 20 drivers and 10 teams, you are really pulled into this series by the exciting race footage, behind the scenes triumphs and failures, team politics and strategies, driver swaps, and business dealings. Netflix has done a great job presenting a balanced view of the teams and their drivers, tending to focus episode to episode on individual drivers or teams to drive the narrative forward and tease you into the next episode. The third season is particularly fascinating as it explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Formula One Racing community and how the races were reconfigured. I found myself binge-watching two or three episodes at a time, (sometimes more) and made it through the series in just over a week. Well worth the time, with loads of great racing footage. It also led me to re-watch the great Ron Howard directed, Chris Hemsworth/Daniel Bruhl Formula One film “Rush” with a new appreciation of two of its greatest drivers, Niki Lauda and James Hunt.