F1 champ Max Verstappen calls season’s controversial end ‘perfect’ for Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’

But he’s still not a fan of the hugely popular docuseries.

Formula One’s 2021 championship battle between ultimate victor Max Verstappen and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who was racing for a record-breaking eighth title, was a season-long thriller. And as the pair entered Sunday’s finale, Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, level in points, the race was practically guaranteed to be dramatic and exciting.

And it was, but not in the way many expected or hoped. However, it might have been ideal for Netflix and its wildly popular Drive to Survive docuseries.

After a late-race crash Sunday, F1 officials initially said the race would restart with one lap remaining, and the five lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen, who were first and second, respectively, would restart as they were. But then officials reversed the decision, allowing Verstappen (who had fresher tires) to restart right behind Hamilton.

This gave Verstappen the chance to pass Hamilton with relative ease without traffic ahead of him, and he did, winning the race and his first title.

The officiating controversy led Hamilton’s Mercedes team to file multiple protests and appeals — though it dropped its final appeal attempt Thursday — and it certainly wasn’t the way drivers and teams hoped the season would end. But plenty of F1 fans had jokes about how Netflix’s Drive to Survive now has an abundance of material for its fourth season, set to debut next year.

“For them, of course, I guess it was perfect,” Verstappen said Wednesday about Netflix during a virtual press conference.

But Red Bull Racing’s newly crowned world champ still doesn’t care for the docuseries, which has been credited with sparking a huge new fan base particularly in the U.S.

When asked about the idea of a Netflix-ideal ending and the streaming service’s involvement with F1, Verstappen said:

“If you have read some previous interviews for me about it, then you know my stance on it. But yeah, I’m not a big fan of it, that’s for sure.”

Despite the enthralling race for the championship this season, it’s unclear what kind of role Verstappen will have in the upcoming Drive to Survive season.

Obviously, the show can’t ignore the now-reigning champion. But after being part of the docuseries’ earlier seasons, he opted not to participate anymore because he felt some elements were “fake” or exaggerated for dramatic effect.

More via the Associated Press in a story published the week of the U.S. Grand Prix in October:

“I understand that it needs to be done to boost the popularity in America,” Verstappen told The Associated Press ahead of Sunday’s race. “But from my side as a driver, I don’t like being part of it.”

Verstappen said when he participated in interviews in earlier seasons of the show, the quotes were later applied to situations he was not discussing and “they would fake a lot of stuff.”

“They faked a few rivalries which they don’t really exist,” he said. “So I decided to not be a part of it and did not give any more interviews after that because then there is nothing you can show. I am not really a dramatic show kind of person, I just want facts and real things to happen.”

Either way, between the captivating racing, the officiating controversy and subsequent protests, Netflix couldn’t have scripted a more disastrously dramatic finish and has a ton of material to work with for the upcoming Drive to Survive season, which is set to drop in 2022.

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