Formula 1: 3 things we love and 2 we hate about Drive to Survive

Things we love: No. 2 – Increased popularity means there is more to enjoy

We didn’t always have P1-to-checkered-flag coverage of Formula 1 racing. For more than 30 years, anyone outside of Europe rarely got to see a race broadcast. Sky Sports and ESPN have long since brought an end to those frustrating times.

Obviously that exposure has been a key factor in Formula 1’s recent rise in popularity. Drive to Survive, like it or not, has been a giant part of that rise. Since the series began airing in 2019, ESPN’s viewership has almost doubled.

And until this year, there wasn’t anything happening on the track that could be credited for the burst in popularity. But while Lewis Hamilton was boring race viewers with his dominance, winning 33 of the 59 races run in Drive to Survive’s first three seasons, the show’s ratings grew steadily.

This year’s surprising and compelling championship battle between Hamilton and Max Verstappen came just in time, as Formula 1 finally seemed to catch on with mainstream American audiences, or at least with Shaquille O’Neal and Megan Thee Stallion.

And at the risk of offending Formula 1 hipsters across the world (myself included) who liked the series before it was cool, popularity is a good thing. There would not be a second United States race scheduled for 2022 without Drive to Survive.

Formula 1’s increased fanbase means more coverage in broadcast and writing, and more racing that American fans can actually see in person. Miami joins the calendar next year, and if that weekend is a success and fandom in the west continues to grow, expect a push for a third U.S.-based race.

Even the most annoying purist would love to see Formula 1 cars tearing through the streets of San Francisco or Chicago or carving their way through the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.