Drive to Survive has hardly been careful when it comes to crossing over into unethical territories with its storytelling. Time and again, the Netflix series has raised concerns among fans and veterans of the industry with its malicious and intentionally misleading narratives.
However, despite the criticism, the show still enjoys an ardent following on the platform due to its dramatically entertaining ability to tell a story about the cutthroat lives of Formula 1 drivers.
Now in its 7th season, Drive to Survive hardly plans to stop in its current mission to document each of the 24 Grands Prix from Australia to Abu Dhabi. As it bulldozes relationships and fractures the peace and stability of the F1 paddock on its way to filming the next fake scandal, some drivers call an end to their patience by boycotting the series entirely after putting up with too much of their nonsense.
Drive to Survive Season 7 earns Netflix two new haters
![Oscar Piastri at a McLaren pit stop [Credit: Drive to Survive Season 7 via Netflix]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/21154015/Oscar-Piastri-at-a-McLaren-pit-stop-Credit-Drive-to-Survive-Season-7-via-Netflix--1024x640.jpg "“There’s always an agenda”: George Russell and Oscar Piastri ‘Boycott’ Drive to Survive Season 7 After Netflix Went Too Far With Singapore GP 5")
Drive to Survive has always played with fire ever since its decision to film the Formula 1 Grand Prix in a reality TV format rather than a documentary. To its credit, the idea worked insofar as to transform F1 into the most addictive sport all over the globe almost overnight.
However, when it comes to certain dramatic storylines depicted within the series, Drive to Survive nonchalantly misleads and manipulates its audience to generate interest, earn profits, and draw in more views. Often, in their effort to do so, the Netflix series goes too far with their insinuations and faked dramas.
For 2 current Formula 1 drivers, the latest season of Drive to Survive was a little too bitter to swallow, even though it continues to boost F1’s popularity among the new generation of fans and viewers. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Mercedes’s George Russell have now joined the growing roster of drivers who have criticized the show for crossing a line with its selective editing.
Oscar Piastri and George Russell set to boycott DTS
As key players on the grid, the leading drivers of two of the strongest Formula 1 teams – McLaren and Mercedes have now decided to boycott the latest season of Drive to Survive. Oscar Piastri and George Russell have joined the growing list of names who are calling out the Netflix series for its problematic habit of editing and distorting real events for drama.
Many drivers, team principals, and other veteran F1 personnel have criticized Drive to Survive for misrepresenting certain aspects of the sport. There have been more than a dozen visibly troubling discrepancies between the real events on the track and the selectively edited and misrepresented version in the series.
In an interview with Motorsport, George Russell claimed that the violently distorted portrayal of the events surrounding the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix was the last straw for him. He claimed:
I’ve got to be honest, I’ve not seen the episode in full. I did hear and I was fed back that it was like two extremes from the first half to the last half. There’s always an agenda for the best storyline possible, and that’s just the way the world is with these entertainment programmes.
The series, which has diligently documented the rise of Formula 1 since 2019, is responsible for chronologically compiling the events surrounding one of the most volatile and electric periods in the history of the sport. However, the burden of documenting history in real-time is hardly lucrative to a corporation that is doing it for the sake of money and clicks.
Drive to Survive Season 7 is currently streaming on Netflix.
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