Why Drive to Survive Is Beneficial for Max Verstappen: Why Was Red Bull Ace Not Part of Season 4?

F1 has grown immensely over the last few years with drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and Daniel Ricciardo gaining millions of fans around the world. Netflix’s Drive to Survive hitting the screens in 2019, has played a huge role in this.

A season of Drive to Survive features 10 episodes that closely follow the lives of F1 drivers on and off the track. It also gives fans a ‘behind the scenes access to certain incidents that take place within F1 throughout the course of the season. This has massively accelerated the sport’s popularity and the show got renewed for four further seasons.

Season four of  Drive to Survive came out ahead of the 2022 season, but there was a huge miss this time. Reigning world champion Verstappen announced that he wouldn’t take part in it and snubbed all of Netflix’s interviews.

Also read: “Car Was Very Overweight”: Toto Wolff Reveals One Problem Mercedes Couldn’t Even Give Time in 2022

Why did Max Verstappen snub Netflix?

Even though Drive to Survive is incredibly popular, it has had its fair share of critics. Many people have accused Netflix of adding unnecessary drama to spice things up, and it often creates false narratives.

For fans who are very new to the sport, these narratives can alter the way they perceive a driver. Verstappen felt that Drive to Survive tried doing the same thing with him and did not want to be a part of a show that added fake drama for views.

As a result, the Red Bull ace decided to not be part of season 4 of Drive to Survive.

Will Verstappen be back for season 5?

Season 5 of Drive to Survive is set to release on Netflix on 25th February and it has the entire F1 community excited. The 2022 season was not as exciting as 2021, but fans are eager to see how the teams carried themselves throughout the campaign.

Another thing that has fans excited is the return of Verstappen. The 25-year-old announced that he will make a return to Drive to Survive after Netflix gave him assurances that they won’t add anything ‘fake’ to his segments.

Also read: What Does Lewis Hamilton Think About Mercedes Going Black?

Is Drive to Survive important for Verstappen?

Despite being only 25 years old, Verstappen is already on the list of all-time greats in F1. He is now a two-time world champion and has surpassed the careers of legendary drivers like Fernando Alonso.

Even without Netflix’s show, Verstappen is one of the most popular drivers on the grid as many expect him to break all records if he doesn’t retire early. However, for added popularity and marketability, being on Drive to Survive could be crucial.