Drive to Survive has caused a lot of noise – both positive and otherwise – in the years since its Covid-era launch on Netflix. The show’s well-timed debut has made the high-adrenaline sport one of the most watched and fan-favorite projects on the streamer. In turn, Formula One has amassed a level of popularity that was otherwise absent from its niche audience across the globe.
However, the one unforgivable factor about Drive to Survive has been its infamous creative editing that makes some of the F1 storylines, rivalries, and track incidents more flowery and decorative than necessary. As a result, the fans who rely solely on the series for their daily dose of F1 get fed twisted truths, misdirections, and misleading “facts” that vary drastically from reality.
One of those storylines involves the fabricated Red Bull team rivalry between Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen that sacrificed one to deify the other.
Daniel Ricciardo gets a leg up from Drive to Survive
One of the greatest gifts born out of recent Formula One history has been Daniel Ricciardo – his unapologetic, undying optimism, eccentric personality, and naïve modesty despite the harsh conditions of the sport. Known for his charming personality and for striking up an amazing partnership with every driver on the grid, Ricciardo has been a universal fan favorite from day one.
From 2011 until his retirement after the Singapore GP in September 2024, the Aussie driver has hopped from one F1 team to the next, the longest of his stays being at Red Bull Racing alongside Dutch teammate Max Verstappen.
From 2014 to 2018, Ricciardo and Verstappen’s partnership flourished like none other, with the two racers being at complete confluence with each other both on and off the tracks. Unfortunately, this was not a story arc that favored the narrative style of Drive to Survive which needed a charming hero to pit against a cutthroat and cunning rival.
Over the course of Season 1, Verstappen was made out to be the villain, seemingly favored by Christian Horner (RB team principal) and Helmut Marko (team advisor and Red Bull godfather). His heated rivalry with Ricciardo on the tracks was backed up by race footage montages that were more dramatized than necessary.
But the reality was far more complex than Drive to Survive‘s superficial attempt at manufacturing a rivalry. As recapped by an F1 fan on Reddit:
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byu/jeroenvdheuvel from discussion
informula1
As far as the RUMINT goes within the F1 community, Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen could be the worst rivals on track and yet, they were the best of friends on the grid. But Drive to Survive failed to capture their enduring and magnetic partnership that has been a source of some of the most delightfully lasting memories for the majority of Formula One fans in the past decade.
Max Verstappen withdraws from Drive to Survive
Due to the lack of authenticity of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, a majority of the informed and knowledgeable F1 fandom has withdrawn from the show. The four-time world champion Max Verstappen was no different. His hatred of the ubiquitous and always-eavesdropping Drive to Survive crew was made public when he spoke out against the series in his signature Mad Max fashion.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Verstappen criticized the show’s penchant for manufacturing storylines and faking rivalries to attract more viewers, saying: “I understand this needs to be done to boost the popularity of F1 in America. But for my part, being a racing driver, I don’t like to participate in it.” He added,
I did cooperate in previous seasons and then quotes were applied to other situations that I didn’t mention at all. They faked a lot of things. They faked rivalries that don’t exist at all. I have decided not to participate anymore and to no longer give interviews. Then you have no more material to show. I’m not one of those people for dramatic shows. I just want facts and real things that happen.
Verstappen, who was disillusioned by Netflix’s attempt at going to excruciating lengths to make the high-adrenaline sport even more scandalous, then took a sly jab at a now well-known meme within the community about an incident on the paddock between him and Lewis Hamilton: “I accidentally bumped into Lewis in Imola as we passed each other, so that’s probably in it.”
The latest Drive to Survive season which documents the 2024 Formula One season will launch on 7 March 2025 on Netflix.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
