Netflix's F1 movie, Drive to Survive, can be a gamechanger

On Sunday, George Russell scored his and Mercedes’ first victory of the 2025 Formula 1 season at the Canadian Grand Prix. This is after clinching a commanding pole position, also his first of this season, on Saturday.

In a season that has seen standout performances by both the McLaren drivers and Max Verstappen, Russell’s steady and consistent performances have seen his stock rise. After all, he’s leading Mercedes’ charge this season - but without a contract in place for the next!

Whether Mercedes is waiting for Verstappen’s signature, or whether Formula 1 is playing up a “Verstappen or Russell for Mercedes in 2026” storyline for their Drive to Survive documentary on Netflix; we will never know.

This is the new Formula 1 - where storylines could be manufactured to fuel the new content hungry generation.

In yet another marketing push for the sport after the uber-successful Drive to Survive, the first official movie on Formula 1, called F1, will premier worldwide from June 23 to 27. The Brad Pitt-starrer has already upped their tech-quotient by launching a haptic-enabled trailer last week.

The film has employed several Formula 1 personnel to offer a look-feel that is very similar to real-life. The success of the movie will be measured by the box-office collections, yes, but also by the newer audiences it brings to the sport of Formula 1.

The Canadian Grand Prix was held a fortnight after the triple header in Imola-Monaco-Spain. The busy calendar didn’t deter some teams-drivers from hitting the track elsewhere! Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll, who sat out of the Spanish Grand Prix due to an old wrist injury resurfacing, participated in a private test at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France to assess his readiness for Canada.

Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen participated in a road show in one of the team’s older F1 cars in Salzburg, while Red Bull’s B-team Racing Bulls hosted a road show in Bulgaria.

Formula 1 announced the calendar for next year. Like 2025, the 2026 Formula 1 season will also have 24 races hosted from March to December. The sport’s regulations allow for 25 races on the calendar, and it is surprising that Liberty Media, the commercial rights owner of Formula 1, is yet to fill up the empty race slot despite there being immense interest worldwide to host a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

Putting a Formula 1 calendar together is a tedious task. It involves taking local promoter requests, holidays, other national and-or religious days, weather conditions and other sports competitions before agreeing on a date. No wonder that the sport relies on double and triple header race weekends to fit in all the races in 9-10 months of the year. For those working in Formula 1, yours truly included, 2026 involves one less triple header - but that’s not entirely good news for the fans who are getting increasingly used to consecutive weekends of Formula 1 racing.

10-year old racing prodigy from India Atiqa Mir, who races under the UAE flag and resides in Dubai, has been signed by Akcel GP, a UAE-based Motorsport team that runs a driver development program. Atiqa and Akcel GP have one clear target - Formula 1.

Atiqa, who is also supported by F1 Academy, has already made a big step forward by becoming the first Indian racer to finish in the top-10 in the Rotax Euro Trophy.

— Kunal Shah is an FIA-accredited Formula 1 journalist & a TV expert. He is the former Head of Marketing, Sponsorship & junior driver programme at the Force India F1 team.