#yeah i totally wrote dan instead of dani

[dpxdc-shipping-wars]

Batpham Section 2 Round 2

Partial fuck up round

[youreamonocoque]

Okay I’m like several months late with my Hot Takes re Drive to Survive but I wrote out about 50 million pages in my notebook about S2 so you’re getting them anyways! (I’m sorry that this is so long I had a lot of thoughts) - Warning for spoilers! 

First of all, I like DTS I think it’s a very good addition to F1 and captures the drama (albeit amplified drama for effect in places but we’ll get to that) and brings across the personal side of F1 very well. It’s catered towards the casual fan rather than the fanatic which I think is great and it can be entertaining still for the avid viewer because of the focus on the personal aspect. I liked that we got more people this series like Rupert, Michael, Paddy etc. It was nice to see more of the people around the drivers and how they all make the F1 World tick. The only addition I didn’t like was the whole Rich Energy stuff I don’t think it added anything other than unnecessary air time for Rich Energy At first I wasn’t sure about the episode per team ‘narrative’ but it grew on me as I watched more not totally as I still have some issues with it. 

Will Buxton....There’s certain bits I liked about his inclusion such as the added context to things that might not have made sense to the casual viewer. I think my main problem came in the Ferrari episode where he overemphasised the rivalry beyond the racetrack. I get Netflix wanted to push the rivalry but it was undermined by the clips of the drivers interacting. I don’t really like Will as a journalist that much but I do feel that an outside context to provide an element of narration is needed just maybe not by him. 

My main issue with DTS is the narrative structure of it but I understand that Netflix wanted to push the narrative that they want. For example the portrayal of Max in season 1 and then this supposed Daniel Vs Carlos rivalry (maybe it exists I don’t know but if I looked at f1 2019 I wouldn’t say that there was this whole massive rivalry between them). I think it would’ve worked had they gone for the more Mclaren vs Renault rivalry instead of going ‘these two drivers’ and focused on the whole team instead. I’m not a huge fan of the team by team episodes (especially as three teams were basically omitted from the series (Toro Rosso were there for like a second but no real focus on them)) and would’ve preferred a more linear structure of 2 races per episode say but that’s just my opinion. I think there was no real progression through the season you knew Australia was first and Brazil was towards the end but you had no real reference as to the order of the races. I was about to say that you know it was getting later in the year as episodes went on but then I remembered ep 9 catapults you back to Silvo and then suddenly you go to Brazil and then Abu Dhabi and it’s the end of the season. 

I also feel that a double hit of the Red Bull saga was nice but I think more inclusion of Toro Rosso would’ve been good at this point (a mention of Dany would’ve been brilliant) but I understand a lot was happening around the driver switch which was more interesting than another story line they could’ve explored. 

I think there was too much Renault or at least too much for mu liking. They got half the first ep and half the second and then another later on. It was a lot for a team that had a pretty uninteresting year. Idk if they had some sort of deal or whatever but it was a lot. 

No Racing Point or Alfa Romeo was interesting. I think Kimi’s contribution at the end was great and in some ways I love that, that’s all we get but I would’ve liked more of him and I think Netflix could’ve made some sort of ‘cult hero’ out of him but there we go. (Is cult hero the right term? Idk but you get what I mean hopefully).

Mclaren got half an episode basically. I liked what we got but it wasn’t enough in my view and it didn’t cover their whole resurgence from the years before. More could’ve been made of the fact that they were so bad previous and that 2019 was a real turning point and such a good season for them. I know Netflix is all about the drama but I think they really missed out on not including Lando at all except for 1 or 2 seconds of screen time that he got. Comedic relief would’ve worked nicely. Especially with how likeable he is as a person and how marketable he can be (I hate that phrase, sorry Lando). He was one of the three rookies. 2nd in F2, given the hype at the end of Season 1 and then nothing in Season 2. If they hadn’t gone team by team then a rookies episode would’ve been really interesting. And we know how much Netflix followed him because of Instagram, Twitch etc. It baffles me really that he wasn’t included more. 

Some races were pretty much glossed over completely (no mention of the 1000th Race in China, fine it was boring but surely the 1000th race deserves a mention). Some missed the drama. Canada - Switching of the signs. Japan - Quali and race on the same day. No mention of P20 to P2 in Germany for Seb at his home race (fine they were following Mercedes there but). Bahrain? Was Bahrain mentioned at all? I just think there was a lot missed out. Also Renault- Disqualified from Japan? Surely that’s drama enough for you Netflix. 

No tribute to Charlie was also a strange move considering how big a part he was of the sport. Even a mention would’ve been nice. A tribute. Anything really. It was disappointing. 

I didn’t really like the Haas episode but this is mainly the beef I have with Gunther rather than anything else.

The Mercedes episode was really nicely done, I really liked it. The addition of the timer for the pitstop was a great move. The Wiliams episode was prossibly my favourite - Not enough Robert though I have to say, if you need a story there’s one! Of all the episodes I think this one flowed the best and I enjoyed Claire’s interview with the Netflix lady when she didn’t ask the final question and Claire asked her too and gave a great answer. But that’s probably because I am a long suffering Williams fan so there we go. 

I did like DTS, I know this post comes across as me going ‘this is wrong, this is bad’ but it’s mostly just small irritations that I have with it and I do understand that they can’t include absolutely fucking everything into it. It’s a nice addition to the sport and I hope it brings more fans in (Pretty sure it has been doing so which is always nice). I liked all the episodes except the Haas one and the majority of the Carlos vs Dan ep but I do feel it is an improvement on season 1 and that as time progresses the series will get better and better. So yeah, overall I liked it I just personally had a few issues with some bits but I’m excited for whatever they’re gonna make with Season 3. 

(Sorry this is so long, If you’ve read all of it, thank you and fucking well done)