The Netflix series ‘Drive to Survive’ will release its fifth season later this month, with the show becoming a massive hit amongst Formula 1 fans in recent years.
The show takes fans behind the scenes of F1 to give them access to conversations and reactions that are normally hidden to the general audience.
While the series has enormously helped Formula 1 grow in countries such as the USA, who were previously focused on NASCAR and IndyCar, Netflix have been criticised for their storytelling.
The producers have been accused of misplacing quotes and rearranging scenes to dramatise events, making some of the drivers out to be different than they really are.
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Red Bull’s Max Verstappen refused to take part in any interviews for season 4, having grown frustrated with the way some of his fellow drivers were being represented.
“They faked a few rivalries which don’t really exist,” he said.
“So I decided not to be a part of it and did not give any more interviews after that because then there is nothing you can show. I am not really a dramatic show kind of person, I just want facts and real things to happen.
“The problem is they always position you in a way they want, so whatever you say, they will try to make you look reckless or trying to make you… whatever fits the story of the series. So I never really liked that. I prefer to just have a one-on-one interview with the person who would like to know me.”
Mercedes team principal has now expressed his concerns about the series, claiming that Netflix create scenes that never even happened in order to create a more entertaining storyline.
“It’s scary how much we let them in,” said the Austrian.
“You hate to see yourself in there. They create a spin to the narrative – they put scenes together that didn’t happen.
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“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.”
Netflix have been quick to deny any rumours that they misplace quotes or alter scenes for the benefit of the narrative, however this is clearly the case.
During a watch along with McLaren pairing Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris for season 4, the young Brit was quick to point out that one of his radio messages played in an episode was actually from an entirely different race.