UK's fastest man backs Drive to Survive effect

Britain’s fastest man Zharnel Hughes has backed Netflix’s Drive to Survive as a roadmap for the upcoming track and field documentary to increase interest in the sport.

Drive to Survive has been a monumental success for both Netflix and F1, with it bringing an entirely new audience to the sport by focusing on the drivers outside of the cockpit and the personnel on the pit wall.

The streaming service is also launching a new NASCAR series later this month, as they hope to have the same success there as they have in open-wheel racing.

The new track and field series is yet to be named or been given a release date, but Anguilla-born Hughes, who broke the British 100m and 200m records last year, looks to Netflix as a way to increase the audience in Athletics.

Hughes: Documentary will have Drive to Survive impact

Speaking with The Guardian, he said: “I love the experience I’ve had with them.”

“I definitely think there’s a lot of spice in there that people will gravitate to. And I’m pretty sure you’ll hear some backlash with regards to how people talk about how they get prepared for races and so forth too.

“Most definitely it’ll have the impact of Drive to Survive,” he said. “Netflix is very popular. People watched the world champs, but you didn’t see the warm up. You didn’t know what really happened behind the scenes. Netflix got every single bit.

“It’s great exposure for our sport. I think it’ll draw more attention, which we actually need. So it’s a good thing.”

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