“That’s literally his job”: Will Buxton Is Insufferable at Times, but ‘Drive to Survive’ Wouldn’t Have Flourished Without Him Despite What You Think

In 2024, British motorsports journalist Will Buxton made quite a stir when he announced that he was quitting the popular Netflix series, Drive to Survive in the upcoming year. Season 7 was his final foray into the world of high-adrenaline entertainment presented through the lens of reality television.

The decision to step away from Drive to Survive was not a political one but rather personal on his part. Despite the growing irritability of fans and drivers regarding the Netflix show’s faulty storylines and distorted presentation of facts and real events, Buxton stuck by the series through thick and thin.

His decision to quit in the 2025 season came on the heels of his exit from the entire Formula 1 motorsport arena as Buxton now packs up and transfers to IndyCar.

Will Buxton leaves an impression on Netflix’s audience

At times, Will Buxton presents himself as the best thing to happen to Formula 1 as well as its worst. The former Netflix participant served as the narrator of Drive to Survive, helping to dissect a race, elaborate on a controversy, paint the overarching opponents in a competition, and insinuate rivalries that may or may not exist.

The former F1 TV journalist’s voice has become familiar with a whole new generation of Formula 1 fans. His ability to break down a scene and explain it in layman’s terms helped the fans relate to the sport instead of simply sifting through the technical jargon. This was also one of the many reasons why F1 became familiar and accessible to the audience and lent to its sudden growth in fan favoritism around the world.

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As its unscripted narrator, Will Buxton has now become a popular figure in the Formula 1 world as fans have grown to know and love him through his work on Drive to Survive since 2019. Just as the series grew in popularity, so did his responsibility as its de facto chronicler of events.

While Netflix may distort and manipulate some of those real events to present a more dramatic version of the truth, Buxton’s easy tone as he sifts through the complexities of a race only to present the most interesting elements of the story has helped make Drive to Survive into an entertaining and addictive watch instead of just another documentary on fast cars.

The curse and blessing of Will Buxton in Formula 1

Will Buxton’s presence in Formula 1 has been a double-edged sword. Just as he helped to steer Drive to Survive to the fans, his simplistic explanations and damning insinuations have contributed to turning F1 into a reality TV-like drama filled with epic twists and turns, heartbreaks, rivalries, and most of all, backstabbing frenemies.

Although he has made the niche sport accessible to the fans over the course of 7 years, there are certain aspects of his presentation that the fans can’t quite contend with. As critics rise to blame him for hyping up the drama on F1 and turning it into “Kardashian on wheels,” there are others who defend his role on the show.

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On Reddit, a couple of Formula 1 fans have succinctly justified why Buxton’s presence was a necessity to bring the niche sport out to the public.

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Currently, Will Buxton has chosen to leave his position at F1 TV and Netflix for a lead commentator position on Fox Sports to cover the IndyCar series, starting in 2025. Although his love for Formula 1 still remains intact, the journalist has also claimed that his new role is an “incredibly exciting opportunity” that allows him to explore a different tangent of motorsports.

Drive to Survive Season 7 is now streaming on Netflix.

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire