McLaren's CEO Zak Brown Praises Netflix's Driver To Survive Series

Sunday, 17 December 2023 at 01:00

Zak Brown, the CEO of the McLaren team, gave his two cents on the F1 Netflix series "Drive to Survive," which has received mixed reactions from various drivers.

The Drive To Survive Netflix series made Formula One famous amongst many audiences that had not previously been interested in the sport.

Formula One gave Netflix exclusive behind-the-scenes access to F1 drivers and their teams, documenting what happens both on and off the track during the season.

Drivers like Max Verstappen or Lando Norris have criticized the series in the past, suggesting it does not portray everything that happened totally accurately. McLaren's CEO Zak Brown said on the Track Limits podcast:

"I think the show is great. For Formula One, it's done amazing things. I think it portrays everyone pretty accurately."

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Many people had no idea about what goes on behind the scenes of Formula One so the series adds another exciting layer to the sport. Brown continued:

"I think it's great it shows people kind of how the sport works off the track. I'm very critical of myself, so when I see something, I wish I would have done that differently or that differently.:

At one point, Verstappen withdrew from the show and declined to participate in interviews for Drive to Survive as he suggested the series fabricates events. On the other hand, Brown believes the series portrayed everyone accurately at the end of the day.

"But I think they kind of capture everyone for who they are and it's just done wonderful things for the sport, so long may it continue."

Unlike drivers, McLaren's CEO is used to looking at things from the business perspective, and therefore, he has a lot more appreciation for the Netflix series. He added:

"It's brought in younger audiences, it brought in North America, it has brought females. If you kind of said: 'What does Formula 1 need to do to grow?' Those would have been your top three in any particular order. Netflix, I think, has been a big contributor in all three of those."