Netflix's smash-hit documentary series on the behind the scenes of F1 - Drive To Survive - has been renewed for two more seasons. Drive To Survive is a certainty for the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The documentary series has been instrumental in the exponential growth of F1 in the United States which is why this season there are two races in the US, while by 2023 there will be three races in the North American country.
This weekend's race in Miami is a direct consequence of the success Liberty Media has enjoyed through the Netflix documentary series which gives a behind the scenes view of what happens in the world of F1. It reveals the interpersonal rivalries between the drivers, the politics of F1 and the struggle and travails of teams. That being said, in the last two years, the series has come in for huge criticism from drivers and F1 stakeholders alike because the shows are edited in such a way that things are dramatised to a great degree more so than what's happened in reality.
The last season of DTS was based on the 2021 season
In 2021, Max Verstappen even decided that he wouldn't take part in the 2021 edition of Drive To Survive. Verstappen ended up winning the world title in a titanic battle with 7-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton that went to the last lap of the season. Verstappen's absence had a direct impact on how the last season of the series was produced. In the 2022 season of Drive To Survive, a fake rivalry was portrayed between the McLaren drivers - Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo which has been critiqued a lot.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has also said in the past there would be conversations about the same with Netflix. The fact that the contract has been renewed also speaks volumes about the impact of the show and also perhaps to some of these conversations that have happened behind the scenes.
For his part, Max Verstappen remains adamant that he will not take part in the series. "I understand it needs to be done to boost the popularity of Formula 1 in America. But from my side as a driver, I don't like being part of it," he told Associated Press.
"They faked a few rivalries which don't really exist. So I decided to not be a part of it and did not give any more interviews after that because then there is nothing you can show," he added.
