By Jon Robinson
The ever-popular Netflix docuseries Formula One: Drive To Survive is set to return to our screens later this month.
The series is credited with helping to drive up interest in F1 across the world, particularly in the USA, and has inspired a raft of similar offerings across other sports such as golf, tennis, cycling and rugby union.
Drive To Survive first aired in 2019 and its latest series is due to be released on February 23.
The series is produced by London-based Box to Box Films, which was founded by James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin.
Mr Gay-Rees won an Oscar in 2016 for a documentary on the late singer Amy Winehouse and produced a film about the life of former F1 driver Ayrton Senna.
His co-founder, Mr Martin, is also known for a documentary on Diego Maradona.
Box to Box Films recently secured an investment of £30m from global sports and entertainment investment company Bruin Capital to help fund its future expansion.
New York-based Bruin Capital was founded by George Pyne in 2015 following the sale of IMG to Ari Emanuel’s media agency Endeavor.
Bruin Capital has a strategic partnership with CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm that previously owned F1, and The Jordan Company.
CVC Capital Partners bought a stake in rugby union’s Six Nations championship in a £365m deal in March 2021.
Box to Box Films was the production company behind the new Six Nations: Full Contact docuseries which launched on Netflix ahead of this year’s championship.
Other productions the business has been behind include Break Point, Tour de France: Unchained and Full Swing for Netflix.
As well as its London head office, Box to Box Films has bases in Los. Angeles and France.
Documentaries about the Grenfell disaster, Lewis Hamilton and Las Vegas are currently in production.
Following its deal with Bruin Capital, Mr Pyne became a director of the company.
