Formula 1: Drive to Survive Is Starting to Feel Even More Shameless

Last Friday saw the release of Formula 1: Drive to Survive’s latest season. For the past five years, Netflix has followed the sport under the guise of showing fans what it’s really like behind the scenes of the world’s most prestigious form of open-wheel racing. The 10-episode format has never exactly been a fully accurate representation of its focal season, with show writers and editors instead weaving together compelling storylines at the expense of some drivers, rivalries, or big moments. But season five has signaled a shift. In fact, it feels like F1 has stepped into the writing room to transform the fun series into an uncomfortably pointed press release for the sport.

DTS has never been an exact, to-the-detail representation of F1, and in the past, I was more than happy to allow it its indulgences when it came to putting a more exciting spin on certain rivalries or talking about certain events. The series is designed to be a drama, and hardcore motorsport fans aren’t its target audience. That’s fine.

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Now, though, those spins aren’t necessarily done to create a more compelling story. In fact, it almost feels like they’re designed to create the narrative that Formula 1 is OK with. DTS has always been a marketing tool, but now it feels like I’m reading a press release.

One of the biggest things in this vein that stood out to me is the portrayal of Sergio Perez, the second driver at Red Bull Racing. Last year, he supported Max Verstappen in the Dutchman’s pursuit of a second title, but things boiled over in Brazil when the team asked Verstappen to allow Perez past to secure points toward a second-place finish in the championship. Verstappen refused, and Perez was upset. Then Verstappen’s mom allegedly took to Instagram to accuse Perez of cheating on his wife, which had been reported earlier that year via tabloid magazines that had sourced photos of Perez with another woman.

Dramatic? Yes. There were a lot of ways DTS could have handled that situation. Instead, it entirely brushed over the Brazil incident… and dedicated a significant amount of time to positing Perez as a family man. I might not have even noticed, either, had the show not asked Checo about his newborn child, had it not followed it up with Checo talking about how hard it is to be away from his beloved family, had it not edited in footage of Checo and his wife dancing at their wedding. I wasn’t expecting DTS to dive into a driver’s interpersonal drama, but it felt like that exact moment was included to counteract rumors of Perez’s infidelity in a massively heavy-handed way.