Pierre Gasly is the latest Formula 1 driver to criticize Drive To Survive, alleging that the popular reality show features sequences that are “sort of made up.”
After Netflix launched the fourth season of Drive To Survive, which captures the most dramatic stories from each F1 campaign, a lot of F1 heavyweights have slammed the documentary.
Max Verstappen, the reigning world champion, has expressed his displeasure with the format, refusing to compete in the next season and recently comparing it to Kim Kardashian’s reality show ‘Keeping Up With The Kardashians.’
“I’m sure we’ll talk about it with Stefano [Domenicali]. But at the moment I’m not really interested to take part in it,” Verstappen said on Friday.
“It’s also taking more time when we’re already doing so many things.”
“I saw the benefit initially of course you get more popularity, but for me now I think you reach a stage where its a bit more like ‘Keeping up with the Formula One world’ if you know my reference.”
“I think it shouldn’t be like that. It’s better just to make a season review by F1 itself, that’s why nicer to look at,” he added. “But that’s my opinion. Nobody needs to share my opinion. I just don’t like to be a part of it.”
Lando Norris was also unhappy of the latest series’ portrayal of his friendship with McLaren teammate Daniel Ricciardo, while F1 boss Domenicali has advised the show’s producers to avoid ‘dramatization’ in the future.
Now, Gasly has joined the list of celebrities who have mocked the show, claiming that certain incidents were ‘made up for the show.’
“I haven’t seen the whole series, so I haven’t seen like [more than] pretty much the first two episodes,” the AlphaTauri driver told GPFans, via Planet F1.
“You can clearly see that some scenes are kind of made up for the show. It’s difficult to speak for the drivers, I’m not in their position.”
“I don’t know how they get on with other guys. I think on our side with Yuki, which is what I can compare, it was kind of normal.”
“But obviously as a driver, you don’t want to be portrayed differently than the person you are in reality. I think that’s the main thing that we ask for.”
“On my side, I never had any issue. I never felt like they were kind of changing or adding more drama than we had,” the AlphaTauri driver added.
“I think we had enough drama over the last three years. It didn’t need more.”
The newest season of Drive To Survive focuses on last season’s tense competition between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, but the former is now refusing to appear in the next after taking issue with how he was represented and according to Domenicali, F1 officials will meet to discuss how to avoid reality being ‘distorted’ in the future.
“There is no question that the Netflix project has had a very successful effect,” he told Motorsport.com.
“In order to ignite the interest of a new audience, a tone was used that in some ways focused on dramatising the story.”
“It’s an opportunity, but I think it needs to be understood. We talked about it this weekend [in Bahrain] at a meeting with the teams as well.”
“A driver who refuses to participate because he feels he is not being represented in the right way is not being constructive”
“So a dialogue is needed to understand how he can be included in a format that he feels is correct.”
“We will also talk to Netflix, because it is necessary that the story does not move away from reality, otherwise it no longer fits.”
“It is a topic that we will address together with the drivers.”
“We have to make sure that a project that has generated such exceptional traction has a language that continues to appeal, but without distorting the image and the meaning of the sport that we live with every day.”
