Ex-Formula 1 driver David Coulthard has praised Netflix’s “edited version of reality” in Formula 1-themed docuseries ‘Drive to Survive’, despite some of the drivers having been left unhappy by false storylines.
A number of drivers, most notably Max Verstappen, have previously hit out at Netflix for editing what is meant to be a real-life depiction of events. However, Coulthard has praised Netflix for doing so, with “bloody boring” drivers having been made to look “quite interesting”.
The docuseries has been a huge success for Netflix and for the sport since it first aired, with the next season of the show set to air at the end of February.
The show has been largely responsible for the sport’s rapid growth in the United States over recent years, to the extent where new Formula 1 fans are commonly referred to as the ‘DTS era’.
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Coulthard believes Netflix had to edit the show the way they did, as otherwise it’d be less “interesting”.
“I do see an ongoing interest in this type of slightly not scripted but edited version of the reality, which some of the drivers spoke about,” Coulthard told PlanetF1.
“They felt some of the conversations being placed in places they weren’t entirely happy about. But the reality is, if it wasn’t done like that, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting and as fun and it’s part of the show, and it’s part of the entertainment.
“I don’t think anyone should be… unless you’re trying to rewrite history or you’re doing something which could be seen as illegal, I think that if it makes them seem more interesting than they are – because most of the drivers are bloody boring!
“To be honest – Netflix makes them seem quite interesting.
“It’s not like The Crown or something like that where you have to sort of start with season one, to really understand the journey. I think the nature of the sport is you can jump in at any point.”
As mentioned, the show has been a huge hit in America, something which has resulted in a “lot more eyeballs” watching the sport.
Coulthard praised the show for having done so well for Formula 1, especially given that it gave people something fresh to watch during the pandemic.
“Netflix came along at a horrible time for the world with the pandemic, but a brilliant time for Formula 1 in terms of releasing that with a lot more eyeballs sitting around and watching people,” the Scotsman explained.
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“Especially in this emerging markets, like America, have really turned into Formula 1. And I think that is engaged with a lot of the younger generation in Europe that maybe we’d lost a little bit because Formula 1 isn’t always the sort of lap for lap excitement.
“It’s more of a chess match than it is bang, bang, bang of on-track action.
“So anything that’s good for one of the biggest sports, which is in the case of motorsport, Formula 1, I think has to be good for all motorsport, because everyone’s sort of tuning into to see what’s going on.”