Nico Rosberg Joins Max Verstappen in ‘Hating’ Netflix’s Drive to Survive: “Not Good for Winning Races”

Netflix Drive to Survive has been a great way for people to get into F1, but there have been many drivers who are against it. Most famously Max Verstappen who has kept his distance from the drama that the show causes. While it is a reality TV show, things do get dramatized for gaining and retaining more viewers. However, it has brought more good than bad to the sport according to former F1 world champion.

Business of Sport recently uploaded a video titled, Nico Rosberg: Retiring as F1 World Champion where the German explains his exit and discusses the influence of media and Netflix on the sport. In the interview, Rosberg spoke about how Netflix’s Drive to Survive has made an impact on the sport and his views on the docuseries look almost the same as the current world champion, Verstappen.

Nico Rosberg discusses the impact of Drive to Survive on Formula 1

Back in the day, all the rights to media and content around F1 were limited to the management. As TV was the main source of consuming the sport, the online market was untapped and, to some extent, sidelined. Recently, though, things have changed with social media and streaming taking over the world, and with that, Formula 1. The German World Champion discusses all these changes in the Business of Sports and reveals some interesting facts about Netflix’s influence on Formula 1.

While discussing the changes within F1 on the podcast, Nico Rosberg was asked, “Some have said it’s [Netflix] a distraction. Would you have enjoyed it as a driver?” To which Rosberg quickly responded, “I would have hated it because I was so maxed out on my performance that I really did not want any extra distraction, and filming for Netflix is such a distraction because, of course, the microphone is always in your head, even in the real moment.”

Rosberg explained how Netflix has helped not only the sport but his private venture too. In the interview, he stated, “It’s helped in my venture projects now, all so this Netflix is helping me so much compared with like five years ago because now in the US, and in Europe, of course, this F1 is just so big, everybody is a Formula One fan, so that’s really helping me a lot in my projects as well. So thank you, Netflix.” Netflix helps the former world champion bring in business to Rosberg Ventures, which looks into investing money in innovative start-ups. 

Explaining his stance on being in the show, the German champion said, “I mean, you’re speaking to your engineer confidentially, Netflix microphone here. I would have hated it, really. But at the same time, I would have really wanted to do it because of the reach and power it generates. I would have wanted to do it, and that’s why most drivers and team principals are on it, but it would have been very demanding and not good for winning races.”

With this, he breaks down the reality of having cameras on you all the time. While it’s given the needed exposure to the sport, it’s giving the drivers and teams more work to do while being continuously kept an eye on. Current World Champion Max Verstappen has a similar take on the Docuseries, being that too much camera time takes away from being focused during races, but it is a necessary evil to grow the sport.

Max Verstappen’s take on Drive to Survive

After the 6th season of Drive to Survive was released right before the first race of 2024, Max Verstappen told Dailymail.uk, “You don’t see a lot of me on Drive to Survive, which is why I don’t like doing it. You probably don’t get the right side of me because it is just an interview; I am just sitting down in a dark room, and I hate that.” The 3-time champion does not like the mis-portrayal of drivers that happens to make the show entertaining.

Making a point about what he does not like about being a part of the Netflix show, he said, “And there’s always questions just about F1-related stuff which I don’t like to talk about. They put a mic in front of you and you have to talk about the season which… just have a casual interaction, have fun.” The environment that the show creates is sometimes more intense than things are, according to the Dutchman.

Verstappen elaborated on the crash with Daniel Ricciardo, saying, “I play padel with Daniel which is a lot of fun. Also, some things are just private, right? People don’t need to know what we are doing and what we are saying.” Ultimately, the driver finds the show intrusive on the personal lives of drivers and team members alike. That being said, interviewing for the show takes time that the drivers are already fighting for in their busy schedules.

Although there are pros and cons to every situation, the positives outweigh the negatives in this one. As we enter a new age of media and content, Netflix has been the attention drawer for millions. That being said, what do you think of Netflix’s Drive to Survive? Is it a good way to get into F1, or is it just too dramatized to enjoy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.