Drive to Survive News: Max Verstappen Confirms Place in Netflix Show - "Reached an Agreement"

"I just wanted to keep it real."

Now that the 2022 F1 season has come to a close, fans are already looking ahead to reliving the action on the next season of Netflix's 'Drive To Survive' and Max Verstappen has confirmed he will be featured in the show. 

'Drive To Survive' has helped propel the sports popularity and also helped increase the amount of American fans. It provided a never seen before look into the driver's as individuals and the behind the scenes drama that goes down. 

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen had previously boycotted the 'Drive To Survive' team for the way they portrayed him in the series, however, fans will be pleased to know that he has confirmed he will be featured in the next season. Verstappen dominated the 2022 season taking his second championship win at the Japanese Grand Prix and also winning the Austin Grand Prix a week later to take the Red Bull team to victory in the constructor's championship. 

Verstappen spoke about 'Drive To Survive' during an interview with Motorsport.com. He said blasting the show for not being realistic:

“I understand they want to bring more fans to F1 – and it works. But a lot of scenes are literally copied and pasted, even with sentences, things that have been said and that I know were not said at the time wanted by the editors.

"At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter to someone who doesn’t understand Formula 1, they discover the sport and will quickly forget about it. But if you’re a diehard fan, DTS is not realistic. You’re looking to see the season from another angle and some of the montages have shocked.”

The Belgian-Dutch driver went on to confirm that he is happy they have come to an agreement to "keep it real". He added:

"So it’s good to have found solutions, to see what we expect from each other. And I think the interview I gave them was good. I just wanted to keep it real. You know, no fake stuff. No overhyped things. Because I’m not like that. I just want it to be consistent, to be my opinion and how I see the things that we will see in the upcoming DTS season.

"Of course, we still need to see the final product but all this looks good. I know it’s important for Formula 1 that the champion participates. So we reached an agreement and I’m very happy about that.”

'Drive To Survive' showrunner, Cassie Bennitt, spoke about the show in the Financial Times' Business of F1 Forum, saying:

“What I think is so great about the Formula 1 paddock is it’s a place of intrigue. It’s where deals are done, dreams are made, and dreams are killed off. Going back to season one, we didn’t have access to Ferrari, and we didn’t have access to Mercedes. They didn’t want to take part, that’s very well known. So that meant the original team had to look elsewhere. And I think that fundamentally helped shape the show.”

'Drive To Survive' season 5 is anticipated to be released on Netflix just before the start of the 2023 season which opens with the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday 5th March.