Any proper Real Housewives fan can distill the formula for an ideal franchise: colorful characters, high-stakes conflict, and a bit of fourth-wall breaking. And oh yes, cash.
This combination, for better and occasionally worse, is what causes its avid fan base to delight in watching the franchise even when they vehemently disagree about drama on-and-off screen. It’s a passionate collective, many of whom consider themselves OGs—that is, people who have been there since the beginning. They’re in it for the long haul, even when—especially when—things (and people) don’t seem terribly bright.
Well, dear Housewives fans (and future bar-sipping patrons at the Regency), do I have a recommendation for you: a TV show about Formula 1.
That’s right. Car stuff.
From the moment I began watching Formula 1: Drive to Survive, I was staggered. It’s not only because of the flush (expensive) and colorful ways the Netflix reality series was filmed. (It’s giving Miami reboot and Dubai premiere vibes). It’s because the cutthroat and ultra-competitive racing featured on the show was equally matched by tightly driven, personal storytelling. I sped through the show’s four seasons in less than a week. (In many ways I’ve been training for Netflix marathons my entire life.)
Any hesitation I felt about watching a show focused on F1 without knowing anything about F1 immediately quelled when I realized that, much to my surprise, Drive to Survive followed the Housewives formula. The connection may seem absurd, but I swear it’s there. While Drive to Survive is centered on a big, expensive, unattainable world, the show was made accessible to a larger audience through individual storytelling, showing drivers as both athletes at the absolute peak of success, and as fallible humans struggling to survive. Big “who is holding center diamond” energy, to be sure.
Housewives series often flash between “friend group” dynamics to individual family lives, and so does Drive to Survive. In between constant travel to far-flung locales for races—like a Housewives cast trip and reunion combined into one, occurring many times over through the course of a season—episodes zoom in on the personal lives of the drivers when they’re off track.
Confused? Let’s break it down:
Per TutorialsPoint (yes, I had to look this up), Formula One, also called F1, is an “international auto racing sport.” It is the “highest level of single-seat, open-wheel and open-cockpit professional motor racing contest.”
Each season includes a number of “grand prix” races where high-ranked results are assigned tiered points that accumulate throughout the season. Teams compete for individual wins that also count toward two “best-of” season awards based on tallied points, and given by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body: the World Drivers’ Championship (for drivers) and World Constructors’ Championship (overall team/maker of the car).
Drivers are shown as young, driven (lol), sometimes arrogant, often funny, and exceptionally talented athletes, bravely competing in what may be the single most dangerous sport. (During a race in Season 3, Haas F1 driver Romain Grosjean seemingly died after his car hit a metal barrier, separated into two, and exploded into flames. Minutes later, he miraculously emerged. The resulting episode title? “Man on Fire.” Subtlety has no place on Bravo…or F1.)
Drivers often race at nearly 200 miles an hour, even in less than ideal weather conditions. Many have crossed over from racing and have become known names and entities in greater pop culture. (Think of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 superstar Lewis Hamilton as a Housewives OG.)
Oh, also: Cars go vroom.
You’re pretty much caught up.
Back to Drive to Survive. What sets this show apart is just how ruthless, and personal, many of these championship fights become. Housewives viewers understand that personal stakes and conflict are necessary for an impactful show. During a Real Housewives of New York City cast trip to Cartagena, Colombia in Season 10, no less than four fights occurred over a single meal. Now add teams nipping into each other’s personal space on the race track and behind the scenes. It’s a delight.
As with Housewives, personality politics are tremendously valuable for F1, because advertisers and investors want to bet on a driver who will monetize his athleticism on and off the track. Fan favorite Daniel Ricciardo, also known as my future first husband (and a driver for McLaren, at least until 2023), has shown himself to be a charming, witty, reactive, and fascinating character. So too is Lewis Hamilton, who is seen Season 4 handling enormous pressure to deliver a record eighth World Drivers’ Championship for Mercedes (more on that in a bit), while juggling 24/7 media attention and speculation far beyond the intensity afforded to other drivers. Evidently, he’s Madonna.
The show also focuses on intra-team tension, as drivers compete with their own team members to win individual races. Some are even advised to fall back from taking first position, so that their higher-ranked teammate can accrue additional points. Sacrificing the individual to protect the collective. Fox Force, anyone? (That’s a Real Housewives of Beverly Hills reference, folks.)
And of course, the titan team leaders play an integral role in setting F1 apart. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner was created in a lab by reality tv scientists, and I cannot be convinced otherwise. If Housewives fans resign themselves to “respecting the villain” so as to enjoy twisty turns in plot, then Horner has taken that as a personal challenge to master.
He seems to delight in aggressively shady confessionals and needling opposing teams during press conferences. Unlike season-long suspicion on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Horner doesn’t need to leak to Radar Online. He always signs his name.
And then, of course, there’s Mercedes’ Toto Wolff. A billionaire businessman who has helped Mercedes reach historic heights as “the” team to beat (apologies to Ferrari, but, ya know), Wolff is seen as a sometimes-resigned foil for Horner. But what’s initially introduced as a frenemy-style rivalry becomes scorching hot through Season 4, leading to a much-derided decision during the very last episode of the season, at the end of a race in Abu Dhabi.
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen was handed an enormous race advantage in the very last lap, which enabled him to steal the World Drivers’ Championship—his first—from frontrunner Hamilton. It was such a hotly contested win that Wolff couldn’t bear to watch Verstappen finish in first position (aka: “P1!”). Race director Michael Masi was later removed from his position after an investigation.
While Horner seemed to delight in messing with competitors, Wolff appeared to keep his head down, adding a personality counter that increasingly conflicted with Horner’s take.
As Wolff himself said during an episode: “Christian likes war games. But it’s racing. It’s not politics.”
(And yet, much like Beverly Hills drama surrounding the legal/moral implications of Erika Jayne’s fight to keep $750,000 diamond earrings that could be used to repay victims of her estranged husband’s fraud: Sometimes it’s both.)
According to Formula 1 journalist Will Buxton, featured throughout the series: “Formula 1 has always been described as the piranha club…the smiling face but the cloak and dagger. Being able to play the politics is as important as building a decent car.”
Sound familiar, Bravo fans?
It’s interesting to note that Housewives is often regarded as a “guilty pleasure” on behalf of its entirely-female casts, and majority-female audience, while Drive to Survive is not assigned a similar (gendered) veil of critique. The conflict and drama is evident throughout both universes using the metrics of modern soap opera storytelling, and yet only one is weighed as something one should feel guilty for wanting to watch.
According to F1 journalist Jennie Gow: “I think Formula 1 is highly personal, highly competitive.”
It’s also highly enjoyable TV.
C’est bon, c’est bon.
Speaking of: here are some of the players involved in Drive to Survive, and their spiritual Housewives counterparts. A glossary to get you started (and argue about online).
Lewis Hamilton, driver for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1
Considered one of greatest of all time, per Wikipedia: “Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles, and holds the records for the most wins, pole positions, and podium finishes, among others.” Included in Time Magazine’s Top 100 in 2020.
Spoke out about his experiences as the only Black driver in Formula 1, including during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020. Also criticized F1’s delayed response to COVID as being unsafe.
See also: Porsha Williams (ignoring her recent spinoff, as most Porsha fans have chosen to do), Kandi Burruss Tucker
Max Verstappen, driver for Red Bull Formula 1
Ultra-aggressive on and off the track, seen as the future of Red Bull and racing. Will toe the line in order to win.
See also: Tamra Judge, Bethenny Frankel
Toto Wolff, part owner and team principal/CEO of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1
Methodical, allergic to drama, empathetic. Says “winning the right way is as important as winning.” Also very, very used to winning. Possibly an angel. Extremely hot.
See also: Garcelle Beauvais, Bethenny Frankel at the height of her Housewives fame until perhaps an hour before her talk show’s premiere, fellow heartthrob Evan Goldschneider, Andy Cohen minus his ever-present shade, Eileen Davidson, Yolanda Hadid
Christian Horner, team principal for Red Bull Formula 1
Sneaky, charming, possibly diabolical, and ultra competitive. (And married to Ginger Spice.)
See also: Lisa Vanderpump, Kenya Moore, Lisa Rinna, Gizelle Bryant
Daniel Ricciardo, driver for McLaren Formula 1
Funny, quick, talented, emotional, insightful. Has periods of professional instability/doubt. Have I mentioned gorgeous. (Mauricio Umansky, watch out.)
See also: Ashley Darby, Melissa Gorga, Carole Radziwill, Sonja Morgan
Guenther Steiner, team principal at Haas Formula 1
Has never met an underhanded joke he didn’t enjoy. Perhaps too funny for Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin, briefly a major sponsor of Haas, and father of former Haas driver Dmitry, until the Russian invasion of Ukraine made the relationship “untenable.” LOL.
See also: Margaret Josephs, Lea Black
Lawrence Stroll, billionaire businessman, owner of Aston Martin Formula 1
Brusque and intimidating personality. Less interested in playing fair than playing to win, including making a car that closely resembles Mercedes engineering. Father of Lance Stroll, who drives for Aston Martin.
See also: Sanela Diana Jenkins, her legal team
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, drivers for Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1
Driving for one of the most prestigious and awarded teams is certainly an achievement, noting Ferrari’s struggles were focused on during the series. A dynamic duo, reminiscent of many Housewives alliances.
See also: The place cards Yolanda Hadid added hearts to at her dinner party
Pierre Gasly: driver for Scuderia AlphaTauri Formula 1
Has overcome enormous professional and personal obstacles, including the death of close friend, Formula 2 driver Anthoine Hubert, and a demotion from Red Bull. Said Gasly, “I had to rebuild myself.”
See also: Alexia Nepola
Yuki Tsunoda: driver for Scuderia AlphaTauri Formula 1
Considered a bit of a diamond in the rough, talented and equally quick to overreact when stressed.
See also: Candiace Dillard Bassett, Marlo Hampton, Camille Grammer Meyer, Brandi Glanville
