Mercedes boss slams F1 Netflix series for turning sport into a reality show

The popularity of F1 has skyrocketed thanks to Netflix, but one boss doesn’t like how it’s changing the sport into a famous TV family.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has taken aim at Netflix and the popular Drive to Survive series that has boosted the sport into a wider market.

The series which takes viewers behind the scenes and deep inside the teams, has helped drive the popularity of the Formula 1 world.

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Despite its mass appeal the show has drawn backlash from critics for exaggerating rivalries and feuds between drivers and teams.

Wolff isn’t a fan and says the series is turning the sport into a reality show and is turning the sport more into the Kardashians.

Netflix are currently filming the fifth instalment of the series after it launched in March 2019. The most recent series shone a spotlight on a feud between Wolff and Red Bull boss Christian Horner.

The rivalry between the two rose as the championship went down to the wire between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.

“It’s athletes in high performance machines. It’s about life and death, and on top of that we added Keeping Up With The Kardashians,” Wolff told the Financial Times.

The Kardashians launched in 2007 and has received widespread criticism for staging drama and exaggerating family issues.

Wolff isn’t a fan. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP)

Kim & Kourtney. Picture: Instagram

Despite his critiques, Wolff did give praise to Netflix for helping grow the Formula 1 market – mainly in the United States.

“In a way, we’ve never reached out to or excited American audiences. Formula 1 is a niche sport – it’s a hi-tech, high-income demographic, highly academic,” Wolff said.

“I thought it would be easier to tap an audience in big cities like New York, but we never really got there. Then Liberty took over, didn’t really move the needle.

“And then came Netflix, came Covid and people binge. Started watching the gusts. And then all of a sudden we have such great momentum in America that no one expected.”

The family have been on air for over 20 seasons.

The critics have rolled in however.

Wolff isn’t alone in criticising the Netflix series with Verstappen, 2021 world champion, previously holding out reservations.

“The problem is they will always position you as you wish, so whatever you say, they will try to make you look careless or try to make you,” Verstappen said.

“Whatever suits the story of the series. So I really, I’ve never liked it. I prefer to do face-to-face interviews with anyone who wants to know me.”

The 2022 Formula 1 season returns on August 26 with the Belgian Grand Prix.