Lewis Hamilton is a World Champion F1 racer, currently holding the most World Drivers Championship titles of any driver in the sport’s history. He started his racing career with McLaren. Back in 2013 he joined the Mercedes team under the guide of Niki Lauda, his mentor and one of his idols.
Netflix’s Formula 1 focused Drive To Survive docu-series takes a deep dive into the lives of racers as they meet the families and teams of the racers as well as delve into the preparation they undertake to be the best they can. Let's take a look at his journey through the high times and sometimes tumultuous times with the show.
Here's what the F1 champ thought about his time on Netflix’s Drive To Survive.
Lewis Hamilton Before Drive to Survive
Although Hamilton didn't appear in the debut season of the series it was widely publicized that Netflix producers of the series wanted him to. Netflix approached the Formula 1 Champ to appear in the show but things didn't work out.
"I had an opportunity with them a long time ago, before that all came out and it was an individual thing. I didn’t end up doing it," explained Hamilton. - via F1i.com
Netflix had discussed with him that they would merely be following him around behind the scenes as he prepares for and ultimately races his circuits. Mercedes at the time also declined the streaming network’s offer to film them as they prepared for the Grand Prix. Toto Wolff Principal and CEO of Mercedes – AMG Petronas F1 team said to press:
“The main reason was that I felt that it was a big distraction and could potentially be a distraction especially also because our main competitor was not doing it.
“There is a different environment when you are within your inner circle in the team and you need to protect it, and [then] you have a microphone swinging over your head and a camera pointed at you.
“The media work already, as much as it makes Formula 1 and we must be grateful, has become a very big part of the race weekends. And I felt that doing more of it would harm us in our performance and this is why I decided that it was not for us.” -via PlanetF1.com
For season one of the series Netflix ended up filming several other racers from around the world telling their story and bearing it all to the cameras.
Season 2: Dark Days
Netflix’s Drive to Survive brought in a new following with the premier season of the series. Mercedes-Benz head of the F1 team took notice and they ultimately decided that they wanted to participate in the second go around. Hamilton was hesitant but wanted to give it a try. Hamilton appeared in the 4th episode of the second season. Although producers of the series wanted more the circumstances Hamilton faced didn't allow him to participate at the capacity he initially wanted to.
The production team filmed Hamilton at the 2019 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. It just so happened that Hamilton got sick. Hamilton in the series talks about how his sickness is really preventing him from doing his best.
"I won’t be in the Netflix show much, because I was sick the whole time," he said. "I won’t allow them to release that." - via GPfans.com
He dodged the film team because he didn't want to be filmed as he was coping with his illness. In the circuit Hamilton spun off the track twice. The first time damaging his front wing. His teammate Valtteri Bottas later crashed as well. The competitive spirit of Hamilton definitely did not agree with Netflix wanting to broadcast him at one of his lowest points. The whole Mercedes-AMG Petronas team felt the loss that day.
Death Of A Friend And Mentor
One of the most shocking moments of the series and especially of the episode was the passing of racing legend, Mercedes – AMG Petronas Chairman Niki Lauda. He joined the Mercedes – AMG Petronas Broad in the summer of 2012, in order to help steer the team into a more successful trajectory. Around the same time Daimler approached Wolff.
Lauda was a three time F1 World Drivers’ Champion, winning the 1975, 1977, and 1984 titles. The Austrian born driver is the only driver in history to have Championed for both Ferrari and Mclaren F1 teams. He suffered from a career ending crash on the track that resulted in half of his body being burned. His life story was adapted for screen in the 2013 film Rush.
As the episode gave viewers a brief history of him, Hamilton said that he was an integral part of him coming on the team. Hamilton thought back on when they first met and how surprised he was that Lauda even knew who he was. And vice versa Lauda was pleasantly surprised Hamilton knew who he was.
The legend in racing also worked closely with the head of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team CEO Wolff. He also shared some kind words of the late legend.
Season 3 And The Future
With each season the viewership for the series grows. After the second season it was clear to Netflix that they had a hit on their hands. With the addition of World class F1 champion Lewis Hamilton even just for one of the ten episodes the series, brought a lot more eyes to the sport.
Producers nor Hamilton have disclosed how much we will see of him in the upcoming third season premiering March 19. We only know that he is in it because of a recent tweet from Netflix with producers working on the final edits for the new season with the caption “Nearly Done”. In the tweet we can see that on the screen is Hamilton in a sort of interview shot. You can view the new trailer below: