Despite being a huge hit with fans, Netflix's Drive To Survive does have its shortcomings with its level of authenticity when portraying the sport of Formula One. The series came out to a collective ripple of supportive applause from hardcore fans. The series also brought in new fans to the sport and the world of F1 drivers.
Updated February 2023: Drive To Survive Season 5 is upon us, and we've revisited this article with more information on the new season, including fresh controversy that's already been stirred up over the F1 show's infamous selective editing. The show's popularity has risen to the level that other sports like Tennis, and Golf also have their own shows produced by the came company – Box to Box films.
The first season of Drive to Survive was an instant hit, even without Ferrari, Mercedes and of course, Lewis Hamilton, and fans eagerly awaited later seasons. But they didn't have the same fire of the first.
Fans became more aware of the "Hollywood-ization" of the series. It featured storylines that were portrayed as controversial, but sometimes were fabricated. Rivalries that didn't exist were dramatized to make the action more interesting. DTS went from a documentary series to an entertainment series in many fan's eyes. So if you, as a new fan to the sport, are wondering what's real and what's fake in Drive To Survive, you're in the right place.
Drive To Survive Fakes Sound Effects And Commentary
Throughout the drama-filled series, we get to see some on-track action but not a lot. This action usually involves the start, two battling drivers, or a crash, which in F1 can be horrifying. Whenever one of these scenes is shown, the sound effects leave you wondering where the noise is coming from.
They include "enhanced" effects during crashes where you hear something being broken with louder thumps and thuds than in reality. They amplify the engine sounds, which is more of a commentary on the actual sport and its "quiet" V6 hybrid engines, than the series itself. The other exaggerating sound effect is the tire screeches. It becomes amusing when a car skidding on a gravel trap is heard screeching its tires on occasion. Additionally, some of the commentary that is used in the show is picked from David Croft and Martin Brundle's SkyF1 live feed from the races. However, the commentary added by Will Buxton is overlaid by Drive to Survive.
There are small details that only a dedicated F1 fan would notice. A regular viewer tuning in might not, at least until now. However, Drive To Survive needs to maintain a level of authenticity for the integrity of the sport, and as a gesture of respect to its fans.
Is Drive To Survive Exaggerated?
Formula 1 is largely about its drivers and their talent behind the wheel of the most extreme automobiles. It is an unwritten rule of the sport that one must respect the other drivers on track, naturally for safety reasons. No one can predict what happens when you go wheel-to-wheel racing at 230+ mph. Therefore, driver rivalries tend to be, respectful off-track, but respectfully aggressive on-track. The drivers are intelligent enough to separate one and the other for that reason.
Therefore, Season 2 of the series attempted to create this tension between two charismatic drivers; Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz. The series seemed to want to create some malice within the rivalry. It was a similar case in Season 4 between former McLaren teammates Lando Norris and again Carlos Sainz, who has since moved to Ferrari. Minor incidents on track between the two drivers (two competitive golf buddies off track) were escalated with not a single ounce of substantial evidence for a rivalry. But anyone who knows F1 and its personalities would see through right these imagined storylines.
The series needs to realize the interesting part of a Formula 1 driver is what goes through their head when they are chasing another one down in a race, or squeezing out every millisecond of lap time from their car in qualifying. The producers need to realize F1 cannot be portrayed in the same tried and tested formula of dramatic TV shows. It is a sport with respect, talent, great personalities, and cars that drive at ridiculous speeds. Showcase that rather than the pointless attempt at "Hollywood-izing" it; keep it authentic.
What Is The Controversy Around Drive To Survive?
Drive To Survive is notorious for misinterpreting moments and quotes by drivers and team principals to fit their crafted storylines. In some cases, radio messages of a driver were imposed on an episode, based on an entirely different event or race. In season 4 with renowned F1 reporter, Will Buxton, DTS went as far as mincing words from different interviews to create sentences that fit their agenda. Sometimes the sentences don't even make sense, allowing Buxton, a respected personality to become a meme on Twitter.
The 2021 F1 Driver's world champion, Max Verstappen stated in an interview after the release of Season 2; "Because the series is all about excitement... ...they position you and whatever fits the episode. So for me, that never really works. You’re interviewed, and they use the words also under different circumstances. So it never really fits."
Having downplayed DTS this whole time, we will admit they occasionally get some things right. A case in point is the portrayal of Haas F1 Team Principal, Gunther 'Rockstar' Steiner. The unapologetic, unfiltered, harsh but fair, personality was really what everyone loved to watch in season 1. Steiner has become a cult hero because of the show.
Is Drive To Survive Renewed?
When things are not to people's liking, Drive to Survive should know that nothing lasts forever. After season 3, Max Verstappen refused to be interviewed for the show any longer, while Lewis Hamilton doesn't divulge much during DTS interview sessions. This meant that a heavy dose of Red Bull Racing Team Principal, Christian Horner and Toto Wolff, Team Principal of rival team Mercedes-AMG F1 took a majority of screen time in season 4. However, in Drive to Survive Season 5, both Verstappen and Hamilton do return to giving interviews.
It is without a question of a doubt that the artificial portrayal of facts has put DTS in a tough spot. When asked about the future of Drive to Survive, Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula One acknowledge that the show has brought new fans to the sport, especially in the US market that will host three races in 2023. However, Domenicali added that Drive to Survive needs to add value to the sport to continue in the future. That being said, the show has been renewed for Season 6 as well. Fingers crossed it only gets better.