“This Is More Close to Top Gun”: Toto Wolff Slams the Drive to Survive Season 5 for Pretending to Be a Documentary

Toto Wolff is a fan favourite for viewers of F1’s Docuseries Drive To Survive. The Mercedes boss has much talking to do for his team’s poor start in the 2022 season, suffering a lack of pace and severe porpoising due to the new regulations car.

The W13 was out of depth compared to the Ferrari and Red Bull. But the team ended the season on a strong note, especially with that win in Brazil.

F1 fans are usually split between whether they like DTS or not. Some say the show is terrific and has broadened F1’s fanbase, while traditionalists argue that the show is far from the truth.

 

While Wolff revised Mercedes’s failed 2022 campaign, he does have his own opinion regarding the show. And the Mercedes Team Principal summed up season 5 perfectly.

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Toto Wolff describes the F1 series as closer to a Hollywood movie than a documentary

Toto Wolff has a lot of answering to do regarding Mercedes’s performance in 2022. While we won’t give you spoilers, it’s fair to say Wolff has an opinion regarding the sensational series.

While gearing up for his first interview with the DTS team, the Austrian was told to pretend like it was a Documentary. And Wolff laughed it off, mocking the scripted show.

Wolff claimed, “It’s not a Documentary. It’s closer to Top Gun than a Documentary.” And all die-hard racing fans who watch 20+ races a season know that Netflix’s viral show doesn’t do justice to the sport.

While the sport has benefitted from the hype created by the show, Drive To Survive has often been criticised for over-dramatising on-track incidents. The show often adds narrative to incidents making it look more scripted than an actual documentary.

Also Read: Lando Norris Exposes Netflix’s Drive to Survive’s Scripted Storyline

Is Drive To Survive scripted?

Drive To Survive is a great marketing tool for Formula 1 as the high-intensity series has created a market for new fans, especially in the USA. But the series has often altered with the actual storyline of the season.

DTS is not scripted, as it follows teams and drivers around races and narrates incidents as the season progresses. But the narration of the show has often received flak for being incorrect.

DTS often picks up and creates controversies, making trivial matters worse. The series has constantly stirred tensions amongst drivers as rivalry, while most have said it wasn’t the case.

As Toto pointed out, the show is far from a documentary and more of an entertainment series. This point is crucial as the series manages to market the sport to a new audience bringing in revenue for the sport.

Previously, Lando Norris was disappointed by the show using an incorrect radio message to plot a rivalry between him and Daniel Ricciardo. Even Max Verstappen boycotted the show and only returned in 2022.

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