Ferrari and Mercedes refused to participate in upcoming F1 Netflix miniseries. Ferrari and Mercedes refused to participate in upcoming F1 Netflix miniseries.

Mercedes and Ferrari refused to give Netflix camera crews access during production the upcoming ‘Formula One: Drive to Survive’ documentary of the 2018 season. They were the only teams to snub the project.

Fans knew a “behind closed doors” look at the rigors of an entire season was being produced. With the main narrative of the season being the battle between Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel in the race for five titles, you would have thought that this story would be front and center.

This will not be the case.

While all other teams allowed Netflix the access promised by F1 promotors Liberty Media, Mercedes and Ferrari declined. For British fans, or fans of Hamilton in particular, this failure to partake in a nondriving activity isn’t unusual for some high-level Grand Prix personalities.

Executive producer Paul Martin said, “They did a slight disservice to the fans and the sport by not taking part. It was going to be all or nothing and if those terms were good enough for the eight other teams, it should have been good enough for Mercedes and Ferrari, too.”

While Ferrari has made no comment on its decision not to take part, Mercedes has blamed its unwillingness to participate on its on-track performance.

“We were delighted to see that last season’s compelling, year-long battle for the championship between Ferrari and Mercedes helped drive 10 percent growth in unique viewership for F1 worldwide and made the sport the fastest growing in the world on social media,” said a Mercedes spokesperson. “Competing for the world championship is an all-consuming business that demands every ounce of focus from the entire team; we are driven first and foremost by performance in every decision we make.”