Red Bull F1 driver Sergio Perez "doubts he will participate in the next season" of the Netflix documentary "Formula 1: Drive to Survive" after saying that the latest one "had 'probably gone too far' in dramatizing" the '21 F1 season, according to Laurence Edmondson of ESPN.com. After it was released on March 11, the series' latest season "topped Netflix's list" of most watched programs in 33 countries. Now in its fourth season, criticism has been "levelled at the series for manufacturing drama and inventing rivalries between drivers that do not exist in real life." Perez said that the "raw material" of the '21 season should have "been enough on its own to create entertaining viewing without the need to embellish storylines." Perez: "They tried to create too much drama, which the season already had -- the season had enough drama, you know?" Perez's Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen, who won the title last year, "decided not to participate in Netflix filming" in '21 (ESPN.com, 3/17).
FLAIR FOR THE DRAMATIC: VANITY FAIR's Dan Adler writes the combination of "charismatic drivers and far-flung locales" proved a "major draw to an antsy viewership stuck at home over the last couple of years." Where the show is "light on the intricacies of pit stops," it "lingers on any hint of a feud." Some "accusations of sensationalism aside," the show has "been, by most accounts, a boon to F1." For a sport that "lacks an exact equivalent for hometown teams," it has "given a new generation of fans rooting interests." Alpine F1 driver Esteban Ocon and many of his cohorts became "crossover celebrities for new audiences in the course of months (especially in the U.S)." McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said, "I’ve had calls from most of the other major leagues. How can we get on Netflix?” (VANITY FAIR, April '22 issue).
