Mercedes boss Wolff slams Netflix's 'Drive to Survive'; says it's making F1 a reality show

Mercedes F1 team principal Toto Wolff has slammed Netflix series Drive to Survive by claiming that it is turning sport into a reality show. While Netflix show has its critics, it is also one of key reasons for increase in popularity of F1 in several countries, especially in rth America, a fact Wolff himself has appreciated.

Toto Wolff slams Netflix's Drive to Survive

While speaking to Financial Times, Mercedes F1 boss Toto Wolff said, "It’s athletes in high-performance machines. It’s about life and death, and on top of that we added Keeping Up With Kardashians." Keeping Up With Kardashians, a reality show that was launched in 2007, has been talk for various reasons.

While Wolff was extremely critical about drama aspect of Netflix's Drive to Survive, he did appreciate increase in audience show has brought in from various countries. "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 explained.

Australian motorsport boss added, "I thought it would be easier to tap an audience in big cities like New York, but we never really got re. n Liberty took over, didn’t really move needle. And n came Netflix, came Covid and people binge. Started watching gusts. And n all of a sudden we have such great momentum in America that one expected."

Similarly to Wolff, Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen had highlighted his own reservations about Netflix's series last year. While speaking to reporters at Saudi Arabian Grand Prix last year, Dutchman said, "It’s just t my thing. n of course throughout whole season, y try to pick moments and fabricate m in a way."