Toto Wolff has lifted the lid on why Mercedes decided not to participate in the first series of Netflix’s F1 fly-on-the-wall documentary, Drive to Survive.

Mercedes and Ferrari were conspicuous in their absence during the first series of Drive to Survive, which followed the F1 2018 season.

Drive to Survive down on Mercedes F1 priorities

Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive is often credited for the surge in F1’s recent popularity, with the streaming service packaging an entire championship season into somewhat of a ‘best bits’ montage.

However, the first series was forced to go ahead without any of the drivers battling for the title, with Mercedes and Ferrari both refusing to participate across the 2018 campaign.

This meant that Lewis Hamilton, Valtteri Bottas, Sebastian Vettel, and Kimi Raikkonen were all absent.

Explaining this decision from a Mercedes perspective, Wolff told the Cheeky Pint podcast: “There are some shows that I personally found quite okay. The cycling was okay. But why?

“I didn’t believe it would work. Back in the day, when Formula 1 pitched it to us, Netflix didn’t really pay any money, very little, and we were fighting a world championship against Ferrari.

“So I sat down with my colleague of Ferrari [Maurizio Arrivabene] and asked, ‘Are they doing this?’

“He said, ‘We are here to win a Formula 1 championship and not play Cirque du Soleil.’ So Ferrari and Mercedes decided not to participate in series one, famously.”

Looking ahead to the United States Grand Prix

In the years since, various drivers have participated either minimally or have withdrawn completely, with Max Verstappen and Lando Norris having shown their dislike of the format.

A consistent complaint from both drivers and fans has been the creation of false drama, although this is something that the creators have sought to address in more recent series.

With the leading teams missing, this gave room for midfield or backmarker teams to make an impact on fans, leading to a surge in the popularity of figures such as former Haas boss Guenther Steiner.

“That was maybe important for the success of the series, because it allowed Drive to Survive to look at smaller teams and underdog [teams],” Wolff explained.

“Then COVID came, people stayed at home. Generations watched Drive to Survive from the grandchild to the grandparent, and then we started to race as the only sport because we were able to contain our travelling circus very closely.

“We were live also, and I think this is where we made a big step forward in terms of growing our audiences and demographic. But why the sport is so strong today, I think it’s not only because of the Netflix factor; it’s also because we entertain.

“We have great characters that are very active on social media, younger drivers. We provide great narratives, controversial situations, the politics outside of the sport. That is basically a 12-month live reality show.”