F1's fanbase is shifting — and the 'Netflix effect' is only part of that

Nothing in Formula One is simple. Driver weight, tire pressure, and wind speed are measured to the fourth or fifth decimal place to determine how cars should be set up for any given race.

But off the track, things seem incredibly simple. Since its release in 2019, "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" has been credited with everything from helping F1 crack the U.S. to rejuvenating the sport itself. These narratives not only oversimplify Netflix's impact on F1, but overshadow a broader shift in the way fans engage with sport.

Proponents of the "Netflix effect" often point to a poll taken in 2022 which found 28% of American adults considered themselves to be F1 fans, with more than half crediting "Drive to Survive." If this were true it would mean there were an incredible 72 million F1 fans in the U.S. alone. Perhaps more incredibly, it could mean nearly 71 million of them don't actually watch the races themselves. ESPN, which holds the exclusive rights to broadcast F1 in the U.S., averaged 1.1 million viewers per race in 2023, fewer than IndyCar and less than a third of NASCAR viewership.

One explanation why the show's popularity hasn't translated directly into F1 viewing figures is that races aren't always on during the day in North America. This argument runs out of road slightly however, when you consider that only 2 million Americans tuned in to watch the 2023 Miami Grand Prix. The reality is that the show's impact on F1 viewer figures has been smaller than headlines suggest. A Nielsen analysis of the cross-over from "Drive to Survive" to the races themselves shows Netflix added roughly 360,000 new viewers to the Miami Grand Prix in 2021. 

But race figures are a poor measure of the Netflix effect. The show's true impact hasn't