Netflix producer names other character Drive to Survive was ‘sad’ to lose after Daniel Ricciardo

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Drive to Survive has been one of the main drivers of Formula 1’s global popularity in the last few years.

The Netflix documentary series chronicles the life of some of the biggest drivers and personalities within the paddock, portraying the politics off-track and how much they influence the on-track action.

Daniel Ricciardo was one of the bigger personalities that earned global recognition from the series, having produced some comedic antics that won over new fans of the championship.

The latest season also featured appearances from Claire Williams although she would later say appearances on the show were ‘tough’ due to scrutinising people she used to work with.

Now that Ricciardo has been axed by Red Bull, he is another big name that Netflix has lost in recent years according to producer James Gay-Rees when speaking to F1.com.

Netflix producer ‘sad’ to lose Guenther Steiner and Daniel Ricciardo

Another fan favourite of Drive to Survive was former Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner, who earned the nickname ‘Sweary Steiner’ from the show due to the colourful language he often uses towards drivers.

Steiner’s personality was largely anonymous before the series came out, in part due to Haas’s position towards the back of the grid.

Drive to Survive is set to return for a seventh season next February, but Gay-Rees believes the show will be worse off without his input after the Amercian team decided not to renew his contract over the winter.

“If it is the end, it’s sad. We’ll be sad to lose him in that capacity, like we were sad to lose Guenther Steiner, in a way,” said Gay-Rees.

“But he’s a young man, he’s got a lot of time ahead of him. Who knows where it’ll take him? I’m sure he’ll have a pretty rich and storied life going forward.”

What Drive to Survive was doing with Daniel Ricciardo in the Singapore GP paddock

Netflix was present in the Singapore Grand Prix paddock during Ricciardo’s final race with RB and was reportedly following the Australian around throughout the weekend.

It likely means that Ricciardo’s potential exit from F1 will be featured in the next season, given he is one of the more popular drivers to come out of the series.

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Damon Hill felt that Red Bull handled the PR around Ricciardo’s last race poorly, having effectively told him that it was over leading up to the race weekend without informing the media or fans.

Ricciardo has been one of the most documented drivers in the series, so it would be a fitting end for his story arch if they do decide to use the footage from the race weekend in the next instalment.