Formula 1: Drive to Survive: a phenomenon behind the boom in sports documentaries on Netflix

Was Max Verstappen the big winner in Formula 1 again in 2023? Did they drive the Red Bull, Mercedes or Alfa Romeo teams? How did the McLaren and Aston Martin campaigns go? Has Ferrari lived up to its fame? The answers and results are already known, but the competition seems to repeat itself, in real time, in the documentary series Formula 1: Drive to Survive. What is the secret, the magic of sports documentaries that are successful on Netflix?

Intimacy, epic, conflicts and emotions. The sixth season of Formula 1: Driving to survive -of ten episodes- premiered on Netflix on February 23 and It immediately entered the Top 10. of the most watched series in Argentina.

The key, the trick, is in the format: docurealities show the teams behind the scenes; they explore the personal and collective challenges in each sport; They reveal the thoughts of the protagonists as the races progress. Events seem to happen here and now in sports documentaries.

The same effect of instantaneousness, adrenaline and fury will return in the other documentary series of the format present on Netflix: Breaking pointon tennis; Six Nations: the heart of rugby; The Marshalon American football; Tour of Franceabout cycling, NASCAR: Full speed ahead AND The perfect swingon golf and whose second season will arrive on March 6 on the streaming platform.

And even in the most intense moments of Captains of the worldon the 2022 Football Cup, which was played in Qatar and where the Argentine national team was crowned champion.

We know the result, but let’s pretend nothing happened

What is fascinating is the feeling that results and positions are defined in front of Netflix users Formula 1: Driving to survive.

“You can’t buy success, but you can buy people who are successful,” says Aston Martin team owner Lawrence Stroll in the reality docuseries. Spectators will not race in F1 at 300 kilometers per hour or win millions, but they will make the races, the backstories of the teams and the internal conflicts of the drivers vibrate – as if they were there – thanks to the force of reality.

Formula 1: Driving to survive provides intimate behind-the-scenes access, in its ten episodes, to this risky championship: the 2023 F1 season.

There will be ten races on the most famous circuits around the world and each episode will answer key questions before hitting the track. Will the Aston Martin driver recover from his injury? Will the McLaren car withstand the pressure? What difficult decision will Mercedes make? Will Max Verstappen from the Red Bull team continue to finish on the podium? Which of them will remain in the pits in 2023?

Team strategies and rivalries will be the other drivers of the 2023 season In Formula 1: Driving to survive. And, towards the middle of each episode, the races will be relived with power, danger and loud engine noises. The multiple positioning of the cameras will provide tension in every corner without respite, depending on the point of view of each car. And together with the stress in the pits.

Here lies the reality effect: the drivers will be seen again on board their cars while they themselves tell the camera what they thought every second, steering wheel in hand, until the last lap. Of course the interviews were done later, when everyone already knew the positions: the victories and defeats in the deadly passion of Formula 1.

The same sensation, in other realities

And that same illusion that the format generates – instantaneousness, closeness, novelty – is repeated in the other Netflix sports documentaries.

“Which team will be the winner and which will be the last in the battle?” investigate the series. Six Nations: the heart of rugbyby the same creators of Formula 1: Driving to survive. Here are the pressures, streaks and challenges of the Six Nations Tournament: the rugby teams of Scotland, England, Italy, Ireland, Wales and France.

Something similar throbs, with every stroke of the racket, in the docuseries Breaking point: “This docuseries takes a closer look at the future aces of tennis. For professionals struggling to reach the top, one hit can lead to euphoria or dismay,” presents Netflix.

And the stories and matches of Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios, Novak Djokovic, Paula Badosa and Serena Williams herself, among other legendary tennis players, are told.

Other emotions at play can be appreciated in the docuseries Tour of France, about cycling; The Marshal, al quarterback the most famous in American football; OR The perfect swingabout golf and more will release its second season on March 6 on Netflix. A high-handicap production: a behind-the-scenes look at the training, mental discipline, personal lives and efforts of golf’s most famous players as they compete in PGA Tour tournaments.

What touches us the most

But there is a sports docuseries that has a special value for Argentines. AND Captains of the worldabout the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and with unforgettable scenes, together with other unknown ones, of Lionel Messi leading the national team.

It debuted on Netflix on Saturday 30 December and in its six episodes it presents the main protagonists of the last World Cup: the captains of the 32 Qatari teams.

There is an inevitable axis, from now on, in Captains of the world: Argentina’s victory on 18 December 2022, with Lionel Scaloni leading the team against France.

Although this documentary series does not always work in reality format, the emotion is unalterable in reliving the matches, the plays and the goals. The cameras also enter the corridors of the courts, capturing the sweat of the players: their triumphs and their defeats.

In addition to Messi, Kylian Mbappe (France) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), participate Captains of the world footballers Harry Kane (England), Gareth Bale (Wales) and Simon Kjær (Denmark).

The docuseries is the continuation of Captains, which in 2022 chronicled the national teams’ struggle to qualify for the World Cup. Who will no longer vibrate when he sees Captains of the world on Netflix? With great tension and even suspense, everything will happen again when you press play. The adventure of the 32 football teams in search of their great dream: to become champions.