Drive to Survive and symbolic capital in Formula One

This article examines how Netflix's Drive to Survive (DTS) redistributes symbolic capital in Formula One (F1) by reshaping visibility and recognition within the sport's elite field. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of field, capital, and habitus, alongside scholarship on mediatisation and sport stardom, it conceptualises DTS as a symbolic-capital-allocating institution within platform-era sport media. Historically, F1 stardom has been structured around competitive success, institutional affiliation, and tightly managed corporate communication within a masculinised, economically exclusive field. Through selective narrative access, confessional storytelling, and persona amplification, the series expands the criteria through which symbolic capital circulates, elevating particular drivers and team principals while reshaping expectations of emotional visibility. Analysing patterns of participation, institutional refusal, and editorial framing, the article shows how mediated persona performance and emotional labour have become central to recognition in F1. The capacity to engage with or resist documentary exposure is stratified by pre-existing capital and field position. While the series has broadened global audiences and intensified affective engagement, it operates within enduring gendered, racialised, and classed inequalities. The article argues that DTS demonstrates how platform-mediated sport reorganises field dynamics by restructuring symbolic hierarchies and redefining labour expectations attached to elite sporting identity.