Skip to content
1981
Volume 14, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2046-9861
  • E-ISSN: 2046-987X

Abstract

Formula 1 has experienced a notable resurgence in the United States during the 2020s. This research examines the Netflix documentary series (docuseries) and related US promotion as a key cause. Parasocial relationships and the documentary format itself have contributed to fan creation. The docuseries serves less as a re-enactment of a topic for historical perspective but rather as a public relations tool, garnering publicity for the sport but also creating fans. Sport promotion can use the documentary format for creating fans with little knowledge of a sport or its athletes. Research results indicated a strong positive correlation between viewership and better understanding of Formula 1 racing and its drivers, as well as becoming more interested in the sport and the lifestyle portrayed. Implications for promotions and marketing that increase use of the documentary as a dominant narrative tactic are discussed.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00153_1
2026-03-31
2026-04-22

Metrics

Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Bingaman, J. (2022), ‘“Dude I’ve never felt this way towards a celebrity death”: Parasocial grieving and the collective mourning of Kobe Bryant on Reddit’, OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 86:2, pp. 36481, https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222820971531.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Boyle, R. and Haynes, R. (2024), Streaming the Formula 1 Rivalry: Sport and the Media in the Platform Age, vol. 10, Bern: Peter Lang.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Boyle, R. and Haynes, R. (2025), ‘Journalists, social media and Formula One: Life inside the Piranha Club’, in A. Billings and M. Hardin (eds), Routledge Handbook of Social Media and Sport, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 36577.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Brown, N. A. and Billings, A. C. (2013), ‘Sports fans as crisis communicators on social media websites’, Public Relations Review, 39:1, pp. 7481, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2012.09.012.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Brown, N. A., Brown, K. A. and Billings, A. C. (2015), ‘“May no act of ours bring shame”: Fan-enacted crisis communication surrounding the Penn State sex abuse scandal’, Communication & Sport, 3:3, pp. 288311, https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479513514387.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Carp, S. (2025), ‘“We’re not creating cookie cutter versions of Drive to Survive”: The Box to Box blueprint for filming a viral sports documentary’, SportsPro, 12 September, https://www.sportspro.com/insights/netflix-sports-documentaries-box-to-box-drive-to-survive-full-swing-warren-smith/. Accessed 15 March 2025.
  7. Click, M. A., Lee, H. and Holladay, H. W. (2013), ‘Making monsters: Lady Gaga, fan identification, and social media’, Popular Music and Society, 36:3, pp. 36079, https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2013.798546.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Emmons, B. and O’Hallarn, B. (2021), ‘The public relations pseudo-event as cultural legitimacy: A study of National Signing Day’, Sport in Society, 24:4, pp. 62845, https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2019.1703685.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Girona, R. and Xifra, J. (2014), ‘The Ramparts We Watch: Film documentary discourse in the field of public relations’, Revista Internacional de Relaciones Públicas, 4:7, pp. 524, https://doi.org/10.5783/revrrpp.v4i7(ene-jun).229.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Grunig, J. E. (2006), ‘Furnishing the edifice: Ongoing research on public relations as a strategic management function’, Journal of Public Relations Research, 18:2, pp. 15176, https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532754xjprr1802_5.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Hardy, J. (2021), Branded Content: The Fateful Merging of Media and Marketing, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Hartmann, T., Stuke, D. and Daschmann, G. (2008), ‘Positive parasocial relationships with drivers affect suspense in racing sport spectators’, Journal of Media Psychology, 20:1, pp. 2434, https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-1105.20.1.24.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Hassan, D. (2012), The History of Motor Sport, London: Routledge.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Horeck, T. (2021), ‘“Netflix and Heal”: The shifting meanings of binge-watching during the COVID-19 crisis’, Film Quarterly, 75:1, pp. 3540, https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2021.75.1.35.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Internet Movie Database (IMDb) (n.d.), ‘Formula 1: Drive to Survive cast and crew’, Internet Movie Database, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8289930/fullcredits/?ref_=ttep_ql_1. Accessed 15 March 2025.
  16. Jager, J., Putnick, D. L. and Bornstein, M. H. (2017), ‘II. More than just convenient: The scientific merits of homogeneous convenience samples’, Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 82:2, pp. 1330, https://doi.org/10.1111/mono.12296.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Jenner, M. (2017), ‘Binge-watching: Video-on-demand, quality TV and mainstreaming fandom’, International Journal of Cultural Studies, 20:3, pp. 30420, https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877915606485.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Kapadia, Asif (2010), Senna, UK: Universal Pictures.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Kassing, J. W. and Sanderson, J. (2009), ‘“You’re the kind of guy that we all want for a drinking buddy”: Expressions of parasocial interaction on Floydlandis.com’, Western Journal of Communication, 73:2, pp. 182203, https://doi.org/10.1080/10570310902856063.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Kilborn, R. (2006), ‘A marriage made in heaven or in hell? Relations between documentary filmmakers and PR practitioners’, in J. L’Etang and M. Pieczka (eds), Public Relations: Critical Debates and Contemporary Practice, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 187203.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. L’Etang, J. (2006), ‘Public relations and sport in promotional culture’, Public Relations Review, 32:4, pp. 38694, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2006.09.006.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. L’Etang, J. (2013), Sports Public Relations, London: Sage Publications.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Levin, A. M., Beasley, F. and Gamble, T. (2004), ‘Brand loyalty of NASCAR fans towards sponsors: The impact of fan identification’, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 6:1, pp. 717, https://doi.org/10.1108/ijsms-06-01-2004-b004.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Loosveldt, G. (2012), ‘Face-to-face interviews’, in E. D. de Leeuw, J. J. Hox and D. A. Dillman (eds), International Handbook of Survey Methodology, New York: Routledge, pp. 20120.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Ma, L. (2020), ‘How the interplay of consumer-brand identification and crises influences the effectiveness of corporate response strategies’, International Journal of Business Communication, 60:1, pp. 84104, https://doi.org/10.1177/2329488419898222.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Malitsky, J. (2014), ‘Knowing sports: The logic of the contemporary sports documentary’, Journal of Sport History, 41:2, pp. 20514, https://doi.org/10.5406/jsporthistory.41.2.205.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Matrix, S. (2014), ‘The Netflix effect: Teens, binge watching, and on-demand digital media trends’, Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures, 6:1, pp. 11938, https://doi.org/10.1353/jeu.2014.0002.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. McDaniel, M. (2022), ‘Tom Brady, Michael Jordan among celebrity sightings at Miami Grand Prix’, Sports Illustrated, 8 May, https://www.si.com/formula1/2022/05/08/michael-jordan-tom-brady-among-celebrities-at-miami-grand-prix. Accessed 18 February 2026.
  29. McDonald, I. (2007), ‘Situating the sport documentary’, Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 31:3, pp. 20825, https://doi.org/10.1177/0193723507304608.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. McDonald, K. and Smith-Rowsey, D. (eds) (2018), The Netflix Effect: Technology and Entertainment in the 21st Century, New York: Bloomsbury Publishing USA.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Mirer, M. (2022), ‘Just how they drew it up: How in-house reporters fit themselves into the sports media system’, Communication and Sport, 10:3, pp. 43855, https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795211049412.
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Næss, H. E. and Chadwick, S. (eds) (2023), The Future of Motorsports: Business, Politics and Society, London: Taylor & Francis.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Oltmann, S. (2016), ‘Qualitative interviews: A methodological discussion of the interviewer and respondent contexts’, Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 17:2, pp. 116, https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203873670_chapter_19.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Schoenfeld, B. (2022), ‘Drive to Survive made Americans fall in love with Formula 1’, New York Times, 14 July, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/14/magazine/formula-1-miami-drive-to-survive.html. Accessed 18 February 2026.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Shackleford, B. (2014), ‘NASCAR stock car racing: Establishment and southern retrenchment’, in D. Hassan (ed.), The History of Motor Sport, London: Routledge, pp. 11331.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Shah, D. and Williams, A. L. (2025), ‘Drive to Survive drives new fans to Formula 1? Studying viewer experiences of a sports documentary and its influence on the sport’s fandom’, Communication & Sport, 13:6, pp. 121334, https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241280209.
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Sharma, R. A. (2016), ‘The Netflix effect: Impacts of the streaming model on television storytelling’, BA thesis, Claremont, CA: Claremont McKenna College.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Sheppard, S. N. and Vogan, T. (eds) (2020), Sporting Realities: Critical Readings of the Sports Documentary, Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Shiau, H. C. (2011), ‘Engaging publics via documentaries: A typological study of advocacy functions among Taiwanese NPOs’ productions’, Public Relations Review, 37:2, pp. 18183, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.02.004.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Soble, C. and Lowes, M. (2025), ‘Narrative storytelling as a fan conversion tool in the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive’, Communication & Sport, 13:2, pp. 30125, https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795241238158.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Stoldt, G. C., Dittmore, S. W., Ross, M. and Branvold, S. E. (2021), Sport Public Relations, 3rd ed., Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Sturm, D. (2014), ‘A glamorous and high-tech global spectacle of speed: Formula One motor racing as mediated, global and corporate spectacle’, in K. Dashper, T. Fletcher and N. McCullough (eds), Sports Events, Society and Culture, London: Routledge, pp. 6882.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Sturm, D. (2021), ‘The Formula One paradox: Macho male racers and ornamental glamour “girls”’, in T. F. Carter, D. Burdsey and M. Doidge (eds), Sport, Gender and Mega-Events, Bingley: Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 11330.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Sturm, D. (2023), ‘Formula One as television’, in D. Sturm, S. Wagg and D. L. Andrews (eds), The History and Politics of Motor Racing, Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 287310, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22825-4_16.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Sutton, W. A., McDonald, M. A., Milne, G. R. and Cimperman, J. (1997), ‘Creating and fostering fan identification in professional sports’, Sport Marketing Quarterly, 6:1, pp. 1522, https://doi.org/10.1177/106169349700600104.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Thompson, G. (2019), ‘Filmic public relations for a global audience: The United Nations and The Blue Vanguard’, Public Relations Review, 45:2, pp. 26774, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2018.03.001.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. Williamson, M. (n.d.), ‘A brief history of Formula 1’, ESPN, http://en.espn.co.uk/f1/motorsport/story/3831.html. Accessed 3 February 2024.
  48. Xifra, J. and Girona, R. (2012), ‘Frank Capra’s Why We Fight and film documentary discourse in public relations’, Public Relations Review, 38:1, pp. 4045, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.12.003.
    [Google Scholar]
  49. Formula 1: Drive to Survive (2019–present, USA: Netflix).
    [Google Scholar]
  50. Sussex, E. and Grierson, J. (1972), ‘Grierson on documentary: The last interview’, Film Quarterly, 26:1, pp. 2430, https://doi.org/10.2307/1211408.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00153_1
Loading
/content/journals/10.1386/jptv_00153_1
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a success
Invalid data
An error occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test