Silicon Valley’s Alec Berg and Adam Countee are developing Downforce, a Formula One series on Hulu, with Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Disney-run streamer has picked up the pilot of the series. It’s described as Entourage in the F1 world. The show follows an heiress to racing team dynasty. She returns to the family business and has to make the difficult choices for the team’s future as well as her family’s legacy.
Berg and Countee will serve as the potential series’ writers and showrunners. The show is produced by ABC Signature. Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey of Temple Hill will serve as executive producers alongside Berg, Countee, Amy Solomon and Australian F1 driver for Scuderia AlphaTauri and Visa Cash App RB Ricciardo.
Downforce is Berg’s first sale from his overall deal with ABC Signature. He is also known for working on the shows Community and The Mindy Project. Berg has also worked on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Late Night with Conan O’Brien and Seinfeld. Countee also has his own overall deal with ABC Signature.
Ricciardo’s role as executive producer will add credibility to the show, as well as a great marketing tool to the F1 base. He’s one of two active Australian drivers on the F1 circuit, the other being Oscar Piastri.
The F1 driver currently has eight Grand Prix victories and 32 podium wins. Ricciardo is sometimes referred to as the “honey badger,” in reference to both his racing style and usually cheerful disposition. He’s often called “the face” of the sport, with his profile only growing since the premiere of Netflix’s sports documentary Formula 1: Drive to Survive.
The title “Downforce” refers to the downward lift force created by the aerodynamic elements of a car. Downforce increases the vertical forces on the tires allowing the car to travel faster and have more grip.
Across the entire breadth of professional sports leagues, the male team owners far outnumber the females. In Formula One’s history, there are only a handful of women who have held high positions in the teams, and none who outright owned a team.
Monisha Kaltenborn was the first ever female team principal. She managed Sauber from 2012 to 2017. The most recent female team principal was Claire Williams. She was deputy team principal for the Williams racing team from 2013 to 2020.
Since Downforce has also been recently commissioned for a pilot episode, there aren’t any details yet when it comes to casting. Hopefully, the current team will also hire women on the writing and production staff. Or better yet, they can always ask F1 Academy managing director Susie Wolff to consult.
That is, if she isn’t too busy. She’s also working on the Netflix docuseries F1 Academy with Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshie production company.
