Season 4 kicks off on March 11; see the trailer here.
Just days before the fourth season of the Formula 1-inspired series Drive to Survive hits Netflix, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff just had to put in his not-so-flattering spin on the documentary.
The Mercedes boss admits that by emphasizing the entertainment aspect of the behind-the-scenes-based series, Netflix has helped drive the sport’s rising popularity, particularly in the United States. But multiple members of the F1 paddock, including world champion Max Verstappen, have criticized the way the series bends the truth in order to achieve its aims.
Season 4 of the series will be available on Netflix on March 11.
Recalling his first exposure to Drive to Survive, Wolff told European media outlet Irish Independent, “I’m watching this—episode one, episode two—and I hate it.”I never wanted to have the camera in my face. We gradually grew into this. Suddenly you realize that it has become so big everywhere in the world with new audiences, younger audiences.”Wolff, on the other hand, is definitely in the camp with those who criticize the series for bending the truth. It’s an opinion shared by most Formula 1 purists around the world.
“You hate to see yourself in there,” Wolff, 50, admitted. “They create a spin to the narrative. They put scenes together that didn’t happen. I guess you’d say as an insider, well, that’s different than how it was. But we’re creating entertainment, and that is a new dimension of entertainment.”
Keyword: Mercedes F1 Boss Says Netflix Series 'Drive to Survive' Not Afraid to Spin the Narrative