‘IT’S LIKE MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT’: FORMULA ONE’S EXPLOSIVE RISE IN POPULARITY
0‘It’s like Married at First Sight’: Formula One’s explosive rise in popularity
By Thomas Mitchell April 9. 2022 — 5.30am Save Log in. register or subscribe to save articles for later. Share Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text size 0 Leave a comment Early on in the latest season of Netflix’s hit docuseries exploring the world of Formula One racing. Drive to Survive. we’re treated to a scene that feels more Keeping up with the Kardashians than Keeping up with Famous Race Car Drivers. Racing team McLaren has an internal conflict brewing. the kind that can only be sorted out with a very private sit down (captured. of course. by the ever present Drive to Survive camera crew.) Shiny new Australian signing Daniel Ricciardo is struggling to find his feet. or at least get his feet to push the pedals fast enough. His young teammate Lando Norris. an up and coming talent. has been telling anyone who will listen that he has “no sympathy” for Ricciardo. Cue the beef. The drama between Lando Norris (left) and Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo (right) has been a major storyline in the fourth season of Netflix’s hit docuseries Drive to Survive.Credit:Netflix “What I said is the truth; I don’t feel sympathy for him. Why would I?” says Norris as a team official escorts him to the meeting. The confrontation is tense. with both men instructed to hose down the controversy in the media. Unable to help himself. Norris has a dig: “Would you like me to have sympathy for you?” he asks. Ricciardo replies with a brusque. “Not really.” Watching this exchange with my wife. someone for whom Formula One didn’t register at all a few years ago. offered a glimpse into what the show has achieved. “Oh. I see what Lando’s doing – such a pot stirrer.” she observed. in the scathing tone generally reserved for cheating Love Island contestants. “I really hope Daniel qualifies fastest for Monaco.” Ricciardo will be hoping for an impressive showing as the F1 returns to Melbourne for the first time since 2019.Credit:Netflix And therein lies the magic of Drive to Survive. Part fly on the wall documentary series. part warts and all reality TV. Drive to Survive has managed to do the unthinkable: get people who don’t care about car racing excited about car racing. “I am not into sports at all. but I love reality television and Drive to Survive is fuelled by drama; it’s like the Real Housewives of Formula One.” explains recent Formula One convert Alicia Vrajlal. 30. Vrajlal is one of more than 130.000 expected to attend Melbourne’s Albert Park this weekend as Formula One returns to Australia for the first time since 2019. Tickets for both weekend sessions have sold out. with the crowd set to be a curious mix of racing pursuits and Drive to Survive lovers. Alicia Vrajlal is a fan of Formula One after watching the Netflix series Drive to Survive. Credit:Dean Sewell “This is my first time attending F1 but make no mistake. I wouldn’t be going if it wasn’t for the series.” explains Vrajlal. who will be travelling from Sydney. “But because I have all these thoughts on the characters. their storylines. I have drivers I like and drivers I don’t like; I’m going there to see the stories for myself. “I care about who wins. but only because I have the context of all the politics and fights beforehand. so my interest is couched in the conflict.” Aside from the running battle between Norris and Ricciardo. the latest season of the series leans heavily into other reality style storylines. There’s the simmering tension between Formula One poster boys. Mercedes star Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen. This then boils over into continual blowups between the two respective team principles (the Formula One version of a coach). Toto Wolff and Christian Horner. The cast of Drive to Survive.Credit:Netflix “The way Wolff and Horner bicker. it’s almost like a couple from MAFS.” jokes Vrajlal. “I’m almost more excited to see the pair of them on the weekend.” Packaging up Drive...
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