Official Bernie Ecclestone documentary reviewed · RaceFans

Last year ex-Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone earned a public rebuke from the series he once ran after making an unconscionable defence of Russian president Vladimir Putin following his invasion of Ukraine.

Ecclestone eventually walked back those comments, but he did not do the same regarding the support he also expressed for his former driver Nelson Piquet who had used a racial slur while discussing Lewis Hamilton. The seven-times world champion responded by stating “old voices” such as theirs should not be given publicity.

For those eager to understand the world’s most popular form of motorsport, the 92-year-old former driver, team boss and architect of F1’s commercial operation now run by Liberty Media is a uniquely significant but also controversial figure. Last year’s row was not the first time his pubic statements have attracted criticism, whether for likening women to domestic appliances, criticising democracy or praising Adolf Hitler (the latter another remark he later backtracked over).

So while Discovery+ snapped up the rights to Lucky!, an eight-part documentary covering Ecclestone’s seven decades in F1, it appears there was some sensitivity over being identified too closely with him. Each 45-minute (plus adverts) instalment therefore concludes with a disclaimer stating his views are his own and no one else’s.

It’s clear plenty of F1 fans feels they have heard enough from Ecclestone over the years. For them the prospect of six hours in his company will hold little appeal. All the more so given he is placed front-and-centre in Lucky!, appearing full frame in the interviews which make up the backbone of the feature.

This approach marks an obvious point of difference to the most famous work of Lucky!’s creator Manish Pandey, whose celebrated 2010 film Senna told its story entirely through voiceovers and thereby avoided the ‘talking heads’ trope familiar of so many documentaries. Having had access to Ecclestone for over eight weeks, filming him during Covid-19 lockdowns, Pandey chose to show him confronting the camera head-on.

This striking device is, thankfully, not over-used. What makes Lucky! essential viewing is the range and quality of material Pandey and his team have assembled from a broad range of archives to tell their tale. It’s in this respect that the series is most reminiscent of Senna, and there is plenty of rare…