This year and a half has surprised us in so many ways. Many if not most of the surprises have been sh-t. But there are some highlights. Like if you had told me at the start of the pandemic that I would be the kind of person who sets recording reminders for Formula 1 races and google alerts for Lewis Hamilton and a few other F1 drivers, I would have laughed in your face. But that’s who I am now. 

 

And I also never, ever would have expected to be writing a post about Lewis and Christopher Meloni – but this is what I have in common with Christopher Meloni: we both got into Formula 1 because of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, one of the most successful Netflix series of all time, ranked number one for TV series worldwide after the premiere of the third season earlier this year, drawing in more viewers in its third season than its first – which is “unheard-of”. 

The New York Times reported on Drive to Survive’s impact in a piece last month and not just for Netflix but for the sport. As I’ve already posted about multiple times, Formula 1 has benefitted from the show, attracting millions of new fans, me included, who are now tuning into races, paying attention to the leaderboards and to the tire changes (for f-ck’s sake, who am I now that I can talk about soft tires and hard tires and when to transition them?) which means that agreeing to participate in the series is one of the greatest decisions the organisation has ever made. 

 

So, obviously, season four is on the way, just confirmed today: 

And just in time for practice at the Belgian Grand Prix ahead of this weekend’s race. F1 has had a few weeks off so this was a strategic announcement, as the drivers and the cars have all arrived to start prepping for Sunday and the fans look ahead to Lewis and Max Verstappen resuming their rivalry. That, presumably, will be one of the main narratives of Drive to Survive season four, as Max and Red Bull challenge Lewis and Mercedes’ multi-year supremacy. 

 

So here’s a familiar sight – Lewis arriving to the track today in another wild outfit, mixing and clashing plaid with animal print and big energy kicks. I love it. As for Christopher…

Interestingly enough, Lewis just interviewed Christopher, “aka the internet’s favourite zaddy”, LOL, for W Magazine and much of the conversation was about racing. Another example of the magic of this show, bringing together two people you would never have imagined to be paired. 

So if you haven’t started yet, I’m telling you, just watch. Drive to Survive gave Formula 1 personality – and this show has everything: drama, boy sh-t, big stakes, petty rivalries, emotions, hairstyles, good skin, accents, and speed. 

Also attached – Christopher showing off his own fashion flair arriving to the set of Law & Order in Queens.