F1: Gasly latest F1 driver clueless when it comes to growing the sport

Pierre Gasly has become the latest clueless Formula 1 driver to take a swipe at Drive To Survive, claiming the popular fly-on-the-wall series has scenes that are ‘kind of made up’.

No kidding Jack!

A number of other F1 figures (Verstappen, Perez and Norris) have hit out at Drive To Survive after Netflix released the fourth season of the show, which documents the most dramatic stories from each campaign in the sport.

F1 chief Domenicali has urged Drive To Survive producers to avoid ‘dramatization’ in the future.

Gasly has become the latest star to aim a dig at the show, suggesting certain scenes have been ‘made up for the show’, but that has made the show the #1 Netflix show in 33 countries.

It has made F1 a massive global success.

‘I haven’t seen the whole series, so I haven’t seen like [more than] pretty much the first two episodes,’ the AlphaTauri driver told GPFans, via Planet F1.

‘You can clearly see that some scenes are kind of made up for the show. It’s difficult to speak for the drivers, I’m not in their position.

‘I don’t know how they [Netflix] get on with other guys. I think on our side with Yuki [Tsunoda], which is what I can compare, it was kind of normal.

‘But obviously as a driver, you don’t want to be portrayed differently than the person you are in reality. I think that’s the main thing that we ask for.’

However, he also added:  ‘On my side, I never had any issue. I never felt like they were kind of changing or adding more drama than we had.

‘I think we had enough drama over the last three years. It didn’t need more.’

And Domenicali has revealed F1 officials will be holding talks to ensure reality isn’t ‘distorted’ again in the future.

‘There is no question that the Netflix project has had a very successful effect,’ he told Motorsport.com.

‘In order to ignite the interest of a new audience, a tone was used that in some ways focused on dramatizing the story.

‘It’s an opportunity, but I think it needs to be understood. We talked about it this weekend [in Bahrain] at a meeting with the teams as well.

‘A driver who refuses to participate because he feels he is not being represented in the right way is not being constructive; so a dialogue is needed to understand how he can be included in a format that he feels is correct.

‘We will also talk to Netflix, because it is necessary that the story does not move away from reality, otherwise it no longer fits.

‘It is a topic that we will address together with the drivers. We have to make sure that a project that has generated such exceptional traction has a language that continues to appeal, but without distorting the image and the meaning of the sport that we live with every day.’

However, less dramatization runs the risk of the show getting less viewers. Less viewers = less fans = less growth for the sport.

How clueless can these drivers be?

It’s analogous to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.