Earlier this week, the sixth season of Netflix’s popular show Drive to Survive premiered. With all the drama unfolding behind the scenes, a fresh character has joined the show. In the recent season, Danica Patrick, who has made waves for her contentious remarks, will be seen offering her viewpoint. Fans, however, don’t seem to love much of her appearance on the show. Some have even gone as far as ‘turning off their television’ after seeing her in the hit docu-series.
Patrick became one of the most accomplished female racing drivers after her third-place finish in the Indianapolis 500 and her IndyCar race victory. However, despite her accomplishments, she has faced criticism several times throughout her extraordinary career.
Despite this, the Drive to Survive producers insisted in including her name in the lineup among pundits like Will Buxton and ex boss Claire Williams. Tom Roger, the co-executive producer of the show, has disclosed an intriguing explanation for her inclusion. While talking to The Post, he said,
“I think she does a really good job explaining to our viewers some of the thought processes that the drivers are going through.”
Even though Roger’s statement is reliable, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Patrick has come under fire for some of her inappropriate remarks in the past. The 41-year-old has not been popular among fans for her political beliefs, and her habit of indulging herself in conspiracy theories. However, the recent backlash she received from the F1 world stemmed from her remarks regarding sports diversity.
According to her, it is ‘not normal’ for a ‘feminine mind’ to be focused on ‘motorsport success.’ The combination of all these unexpected statements from such a well-known person left a bad taste for fans all over the world.
How did the Fans react to Danica Patrick’s appearance on Drive to Survive?
Given how one-sided the 2023 season was, fans didn’t focus on-track action to be the epicenter of season 6 of DTS. Fans were still anticipating some of the behind-the-scenes antics that the show is well known for. Nevertheless, when they saw Danica Patrick on the screen, they couldn’t control their varied emotions. One fan even stated that they were prepared to ‘turn off’ the TV as soon as Patrick appeared on the show.
The way I was ready to turn my tv off the second they showed Danica Patrick pic.twitter.com/pkK9nzyZYu
— Kassie (@kass710) February 24, 2024
f1 fans seeing Danica Patrick in season 6 of Drive to Survive pic.twitter.com/XcNWm42Jwo
— anna ⚽️ (@redxdevilgal) February 23, 2024
Danica Patrick is in season 6 of #DriveToSurvive – I think we can all agree, this is the perfect reaction. pic.twitter.com/G43prx2AVX
— Brigitte Krause (@TheBrigitteEdit) February 23, 2024
Me every time Danica Patrick appeared on my screen while watching DTS pic.twitter.com/DJi5NX9tqw
— C (@Court_W44) February 23, 2024
A few of them even described her appearance in a sarcastic tone.
“as a race car driver, your tools are your hands and your feet” – Danica Patrick
I now know how to drive. #DriveToSurvive pic.twitter.com/evzbJsDIaV
— chloe⁴⁴ (@chloeteamlh) February 23, 2024
F1 fans watching #DriveToSurvive and seeing Danica Patrick has found her way onto it pic.twitter.com/Z9DXYdS0Hz
— Cameron Francis (@cameronf1888) February 23, 2024
Other fans expressed their disappointment by focusing on particular scenes from the show. In particular, a scene where she was being blatantly harsh on Lewis Hamilton was targeted.
Danica Patrick: [Talking about Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes] “And of course, the … the clock. Like he’s, you know … He’s getting older. How many more seasons is her gonna have?” pic.twitter.com/Vk7CKBIIvL
— ً (@tsimiks) February 23, 2024
I don’t like when Danica Patrick speaks about our Lewis…just…don’t #DriveToSurvive pic.twitter.com/xBRgK0Ywlg
— megan (@ciaomegan_) February 23, 2024
Reviews about Drive to Survive have been mixed so far. A lot of people are happy that the show does not focus on Red Bull’s dominance, which was all that was visible in terms of action in 2023. Instead, the show brings several entities, including Patrick, to talk about other events that took place- mainly behind the scenes.