The producer behind Netflix’s Formula 1 series Drive to Survive has revealed who he thinks will replace Daniel Ricciardo. Since the Australian competitor was a sort of “secret hero” of the series, he won’t be a member of the field this year.
“Without Daniel, I think there might not have been Drive to Survive,” Paul Martin told The Post.
“He was the first rider we spoke to about this, and the first rider who invited us to his home in Australia. I was very touched when he left.”
The co-founder of Box to Box Films believes that 27-year-old French driver Pierre Gasly, who will start this season in Alpine, can “fill” the void left by Ricciardo.
“For me, Gasly has always been in that role. The show has been on a great journey with Pierre and I feel emotionally connected to him,” Martin explained.
“We’ve seen him go through some amazing lows: the season he was demoted [a Red Bull Racingtől] And when Antoine [Hubert] He died. So it will be great to see him finally get another chance in a competitive car.”
“He’s grown a lot as a competitor and as a person on screen, so I think he’s going to be the one to fill the void that Daniel left behind.”
Named as Red Bull’s reserve driver for 2023, Perth-born Ricciardo has been a longtime favourite, becoming an international star over time after his ‘Drive to Survive’ made everyone aware of his character.
“I’m Daniel Ricciardo, and I’m an auto mechanic,” he jokes in the first episode.
“The Netflix guys really are a bunch of bitches, aren’t they?” “I am the epitome of human achievement,” he said in the second season, and later added.
F1 itself has risen in popularity since the docu-series premiered in 2019, with Martin comparing the sport to a classic daytime drama.
It’s a TV series: A Characters “They kill, they come back, and new characters come in,” Martin said.
With this, let’s say, Martin said the keynote, which is exactly the negative side of the series, which deceives and misleads new fans, turning them into “fashionistas” – ed.
He even compared Ricciardo’s departure from Formula 1 to the famous shower scene in Dallas where “Bobby Ewing came back from the dead”.
“I’m a big fan of the old ’80s sitcoms, so it’s a bit like Bobby Ewing. I wouldn’t be surprised if Daniel showed up in the shower sometime this year,” Martin laughed.
“He’s such a character… If some teams start to perform poorly and their drivers don’t seem to work, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Daniel back in the driver’s seat.”
Season 5 of “Drive to Survive” will premiere February 24 on Netflix.
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