A rare win for Netflix as F1 boss credits it with making the sport popular

What you need to know

Christian Horner believes that Netflix is to thank for F1’s rise in popularity.
F1 is the subject of four Drive to Survive seasons that are available on Netflix.

An F1 team principal thinks that Netflix is behind the sport’s current rise in popularity.

Beleaguered Netflix has a rare win to celebrate and it’s come from an unlikely place — Red Bull Formula 1 Team Principal Christian Horner.

Horner was speaking to Bloomberg about Formula 1’s current moment in the sun — growing popularity that Horner believes is thanks, at least in part, to Netflix. F1 is the subject of Netflix series Drive to Survive and has already seen four series grow the sport’s popularity in new ways — specifically, it’s helped the sport take a foothold in the American market. Historically, F1 hasn’t been popular stateside, but that’s all changing.

Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner discusses the surge in Formula One’s popularity.

He also weighs in on performance of the team’s drivers and Porsche’s interest in entering the sport https://t.co/KWqJks3VJ7 pic.twitter.com/QBaKAhNmcA

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) June 1, 2022

Amid news that Netflix lost 200,000 subscribers earlier this year the company has been seeking ways to cut costs and make more money. The first has been done by culling a number of animation projects that were in the works, while the second involves cutting password sharers off and planning a new ad-supported payment tier. But, as ever, it’s the content that really matters — and in Drive to Survive both Netflix and F1 have found a symbiotic relationship that works.

You can now watch the first four seasons of Drive to Survive on Netflix and they’re well worth watching even if you wouldn’t consider yourself a huge F1 fan. In fact, the season has no doubt been responsible for plenty of non-fans getting involved in the sport for the first time, as Horner suggests.

If you want to enjoy Drive to Survive in style, be sure to check out our list of the best Apple TV deals on the market today.