Red Bull team boss Christian Horner has revealed that he has been forced to veto some Drive to Survive footage to keep secrets under wraps.
The hit Netflix programme has garnered plenty of praise from supporters since its original release back in 2019. It gives viewers a valuable, behind-the-scenes insight into the drivers and the races of the Championship.
It has now been running for five seasons, with the latest iteration having been released earlier this year. However, Horner has revealed that teams can still have a say over what features as they attempt to keep their secrets under wraps from their rivals.
Speaking to the Financial Times, he said: “What you’ve got to remember is that it’s a TV show. They capture hours and hours of content.
“The problem is they put a microphone on you at the beginning of the day and you forget that they’re there. Then you get to the end of the season and they tend to send you the clips of just you and your team.
“You think ‘Did I really say that? Did I really call someone a ‘See You Next Tuesday'?’ We can say ‘you can’t put that in there, there’s a part of the car you can’t show'. That’s the only get out of jail card we have.”
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Reigning world champion Max Verstappen is among those to have spoken out against the Drive To Survive series. Ahead of the release of the latest series, he revealed that talks had been held with Netflix bosses to ensure it was a realistic portrayal of the championship.
“That's why we had to talk about it first, and they understood my side of it,” the Dutchman said. “Of course, I understand when you create a show, there needs to be drama, it needs to be exciting.
“But I'm a guy who finds it also very important that you're portrayed well, and that they do not start to copy comments on the different kinds of footage while it didn't happen like that.
“I had to explain it to them that that was my view. Otherwise, I didn't want to be part of it. But yes, they understood.
“Let's see, once it comes out, what they made of it. But I'm positive of course, because I know it's also very important for Formula 1.”
Verstappen will no doubt be looking forward to the early episodes of the next season of Drive To Survive. He holds a 14-point lead over teammate Sergio Perez in the current championship standings after five races of the campaign.
