Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive has been transformative in growing Formula 1 viewership in the United States — but is it time for the streaming service to change tactics?

New data from Netflix reveals that, while DTS still remains extremely popular, its growth is slowing. A move to broadcasting live sports, though, could signal the service’s next big move.

Netflix, Drive to Survive, and Formula 1’s American growth

A new report detailing internal Netflix viewership data from January through June of 2025 has revealed a few key statistics that could signal a major change in the platform’s relationship to Formula 1.

As published in the Sports Business Journal, season 7 of Drive to Survive still remains the most-watched sports documentary on the platform, with 10.4 million views — far outpacing releases like Court of Gold (6.6 million views) and Full Swing season 3 (4.1 million views).

While 10.6 million views — not viewers, but views — is still impressive, it also represents a 10.3 per cent drop in views when compared to the same period of time in 2024.

Netflix has historically not released viewing data, so comparisons with previous seasons is impossible; however, comparisons between season 7 and season 6 of Drive to Survive reveals that consumed hours of the series have dropped 16 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024.

More on Netflix and ‘Drive to Survive’

👉 Opinion: Netflix would be the ideal broadcast partner for Formula 1 in the USA

👉 Five reasons why F1’s Drive to Survive success hasn’t been replicated

In many ways, the drop in interest is not wholly unexpected. Formula 1’s popularity in the United States can largely trace its roots to a confluence of factors that all took place at the same time.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic confined citizens of the world to their homes for an indeterminate amount of time, many Americans turned to Netflix to ease the boredom and anxiety of lockdown. Drive to Survive had released a new season just prior to the lockdowns, and many Americans who had never previously heard of F1 were quickly entranced by the decidedly European glamour and high drama the sport put on offer.

Further, Formula 1 was one of the first live sports to return in the midst of the pandemic. Many fans of other, more American sports (American football, baseball, hockey) craved the communal experience of watching a live sporting event with others on social media, and F1 slotted in to fill that gap.

The popularity of F1 in America continued even beyond the pandemic. In 2021, fans flocked to the Circuit of The Americas in record numbers for the United States Grand Prix, which prompted the creation of the Miami and Las Vegas Grands Prix, along with countless American sponsorship deals and more American-focused content.

Now, though, that explosion in popularity looks to be slowing — but Netflix has been experimenting with another possible future for sports on its platform.

Netflix, the WWE, and Formula 1’s US broadcast rights

Netflix made a major leap at the start of 2025: It inked a deal to air the WWE’s weekly “Raw” shows on Monday nights — and the reception has been impressive.

The first “Raw” broadcast on Netflix, on January 6, amassed 6.9 million views. The following week, the show netted 4.4 million views — already outpacing the views of Drive to Survive during the first six months of 2025.

In sum, “Raw” has netted 88.6 million views in 2025, with an average of 3.4 million views per broadcast.

Could this illustrate a new way forward for Formula 1?

At the conclusion of 2025, ESPN will end its run as F1’s American broadcast partner, and while there is still a possibility that ESPN could renew its rights, it seems far more likely that those rights will be sold to a streaming platform like Netflix or Apple.

Both platforms have expressed interest in acquiring US F1 broadcast rights — Netflix as a way to capitalize on the DTS boom, and Apple as a way to capitalize on the success of F1: The Movie.

Airing live sports on streaming platforms is still a fairly new phenomenon. Netflix broke major ground by airing two NFL games live on Christmas day in 2024, netting 65 million viewers in the United States alone, and other platforms have followed suit.

Both Netflix and Apple have a vested interest in Formula 1, and in utilizing their platforms to continue amassing ever-greater audiences — and the continued, if declining, popularity of F1 in America could very well lend itself to the establishment of one of those streaming services as the hub of F1 in the United States.

Read next: The five most embarrassing disqualifications in F1 history