The Release of 'F1: The Academy'
The Netflix Formula 1 sports documentary Drive to Survive came out in 2019. This show was a grand hit causing viewership of the sport to skyrocket in the following years of each season. The docuseries has brought in a younger and more diverse audience to the sport, increasing its already large popularity. Since 2019 the show has come out with 7 seasons in total, following the behind the scenes of each racing year. The show has allowed this sport to become even grander by humanizing the F1 drivers when focusing on the human stories behind the racing. Because of this sensation of a show, allowing for greater viewership each year, F1 Academy released their first season of their very own docuseries on May 28th.
F1 Academy is an all-female single seater racing championship that focuses on the accessibility for motorsports to reach its female audience. Created by Susie Wolff, the last female Formula 1 driver, this championship was established to develop younger female talent for the greater levels of motorsport with an end goal of having a women race in Formula 1 once again. If this league can gain more traction with a larger audience, more attention will be able to come to the women of motorsports. This can allow for more sponsors and greater accessibility for women to climb the ladder to Formula 1. Following the fame of Drive to Survive, F1 Academy has now launched their own docuseries by Reece Witherspoon’s company called F1: The Academy.
While F1: The Academy is reaching for the same goals as Drive to Survive, the new docuseries proves they are nothing if not different. While F1 Academy was created to push the movement in which women will end up in Formula 1, the difference between the two championships became abundantly clear. Drive to Survive focuses on the luxury lives of Formula 1 drivers: being on yachts, living in a Monaco, and owning the nicest cars. While F1 Academy showcases the long way these women must go to gain the riches of the sport. Rather than living in luxury, the documentary demonstrates the challenges that are faced when trying to become a professional racing driver.
Not all points of the career are racing, rather the money needed to race is a large aspect. Seen in the docuseries, many F1 Academy drivers live with their managers and work hard to afford rent. In the lower level following F1, the cut-throat notion of sport exists, as if you don’t perform, the sponsorships won’t provide the money to continue. F1 Academy only allows for the women to race for two years. Only two years to showcase what they can do and prove they deserve to be in the world of motorsports. As Susie Wolff said, “If you can't cut it in F1 Academy, there's not going to be much of a career left for you.”
The docuseries only focuses on certain drivers’ stories through the 7 episodes, allowing for a deeper, more personal dive into each driver's story. This notion can capture the reality of what it is like to fight to become a Formula 1 driver, which touches on the reasoning of why Drive to Survive was so popular. By humanizing a connection between the audience and the driver allows for greater popularity within the series.
F1: The Academy will help in growing this championship and will aid in allowing another path for women to enter the world of motorsports. Even so the question remains, if it is possible to get women back to racing in Formula 1? Nevertheless, this racing and Netflix series are certainly a step in the right direction.
Written by Mira Johal
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