McLaren sides with Netflix: "Even if they take creative liberties"

Since its first episode in 2019, Drive to Survive has become a true Netflix hit. This year's season kicking off in Bahrain also drew more viewers worldwide than in years past. Yet criticism regarding the creative liberties the series takes is starting to pile up here and there.

Max Verstappen and his father Jos, George Russell and the Williams family, among others, previously indicated that they were not happy with the way in which Netflix is presenting the Formula 1 circus. Seasoned F1 fans are also irritated by specially created commentary or haphazardly inserted team radios to create controversy. One example is the rivalry between Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris.

Zak Brown, however, is not among these critics. The American is very happy with what Netflix is doing for the sport. "It has brought a lot of popularity. I believe the series was trending in as many as 25 countries. The primary goal was to attract new F1 viewers, and that goal has been achieved anyway, which I think is great," he tells Motorsport-Total.com.

According to the McLaren CEO, the advantages, therefore, outweigh the disadvantages. "The main thing is that it has managed to attract a lot of new fans from all over the world. Everyone knows that Carlos and Lando had a great relationship. So at McLaren, we support Netflix and what they are trying to achieve, even though they are taking creative liberties." Brown even makes a comparison with the famous Hollywood movie Top Gun: "You watch that movie and you know that every fighter pilot will say that it doesn't really go like in the movie. But still, it was a great movie."