Netflix released a turbulent Drive to Survive season four and is already gearing up for the release of a fifth season next year. While the show has been praised innumerable times for increasing global interest in Formula One races and the sport, Max Verstappen has spoken out against the series, talking about how Netflix is “faking rivalries”.
The fourth season upheld the breathtaking finale in Abu Dhabi that recorded the race between max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton. Verstappen beat Hamilton in what the fuming bosses at Mercedes called an allegedly manipulated race that Netflix tweaked to “manufacture drama”.
While the rest of the world seemingly loved the turbulent season and the rest of the series, the reigning world champion has accused the streaming service of manipulating the viewers into believing in alleged rivalries between racers. Verstappen said, “I watched two episodes, but I was not very impressed. It’s just not my thing, faking rivalries.”
He referred to the incident between Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo from McLaren to emphasise his point, talking about the episode where they are “not very friendly to each other”, which is, according to him, a misrepresentation of their relationship.
The Red Bull driver says that it is “more like a reality show” and not very accurate to the realities of the race.
Talking about why he decided to stay out of it, he said, “It takes way too much time anyway. I need to focus on the racing and have a private time and not spend another half an hour at the race weekend when they need to talk to you.”
He also spoke up about the controversial end to the Grand Prix season in Abu Dhabi that led to Michael Masi’s removal as the race director. The 24-year-old won the race after Masi allegedly decided to restart the race early before a safety car.
Talking about how there are “dramatic moments” in the F1 race, Verstappen said it “is a very tough world”. When asked about Hamilton, he cheekily stated, “. I think Lewis can feel the pain a bit less if you already have seven [drivers’ titles].”
Watch all four seasons of Drive to Survive on Netflix now.
