F1 docuseries “Drive to Survive” receives reputable Emmy Award

Netflix docuseries Formula 1: Drive to Survive won the “Outstanding Sports Documentary Series – Serialised” category at the 2025 Sports Emmys.

Having picked up the same award in 2022, the series was recognised for the sixth season, which covered the 2023 F1 season. 

Drive to Survive has been monumental for the sport. Although it has been met with backlash for clever editing and dramatisation from fans and a number of drivers, you cannot deny the influence it has had on expanding the popularity of F1, especially in the United States. 

The first season was released in 2019, coinciding with the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing it to rapidly find success. From there, it has continued to grow a new fan base for the sport while helping it break into new markets.

The sixth season of the hit show provided new challenges for the production team. As Red Bull driver Max Verstappen enjoyed an incredibly dominant season, winning 19 out of 22 Grands Prix, the team had to look deeper for more compelling storylines.

While speaking to F1.com at the time, Executive Producer James Gay-Rees explained:

“Obviously you’re not talking about a season where there’s a massive title rivalry, so really it’s interesting watching the fight for second, third, fourth taking place.

“It’s really good for some of the drivers in those teams, like Oscar Piastri, Pierre Gasly, having really, really substantial stories this year. Daniel Ricciardo coming back to F1 was fantastic and a massive bonus for the series.

“The style of story-telling hasn’t radically changed, but it’s a really strong season. We went into it slightly worried that because Red Bull were so dominant it might be a little bit skinny, but actually it’s not. We even nearly did more episodes than we normally do because we had quite a lot of stories to tell.

“It’s really good to shine a light on those other teams. Mercedes have a tricky year that they turn around, Aston Martin start big and then fall away, so there were some interesting and surprising shakes in it, even if the headline was pretty written early, if you know what I mean.”