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We all know Drive to Survive drama is overblown – Max Verstappen’s even told us – but there is one rivalry which may prove the exception.
The Netflix Formula 1 series has taken the sport to new heights at home and abroad and is now in its seventh season as one of the most popular documentaries ever made.
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Starting without top teams Ferrari and Mercedeseveryone is now desperate to get on the series with sports like tennis and golf even trying to follow its path.
They haven’t had the drama of life and death sport at 230mph though, which led to an almighty flashpoint in 2021.
Valtteri Bottas collided with George Russell who was competing for his Mercedes seat, and they even got slightly physical in the aftermath.
Season four of Driver to Survive covered the drama when the pair were left in a smoking wreck at Imola and Russell slapped Bottas on the helmet only to get a middle finger in return.
Russell went on a tirade calling Bottas a ‘f***ing p****’ and a ‘c***t’ and indicated it was because he was trying to take the Finn’s Mercedes seat, which he eventually did.
The circumstances were the perfect cocktail for Netflix who covered the crash and seat swap in its own episode called Dances With Wolff in reference to team boss Toto wolff.
However, as Bottas exclusively told talkSPORT.com, all is not as it seems, with him and Russell even now working together at Mercedes.
“Everything is of course more drama in the series which is normal,” he said.
“These things happen in sports and we all drivers know that it’s a sport. Sometimes you fail, emotions are high etc. But I’ve never had personal issues with any drivers so I could work with anybody.
“And in the end I think every driver still deep inside has respect for each other. So yeah, don’t believe everything you see on Netflix.”
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Yet Bottas did admit one caveat, and that’s with the aforementioned Wolff.
The billionaire Mercedes team principal and CEO has staged a vicious rivalry with his opposite number at Red Bull – Christian Horner – both in the media and on Netflix.
Two of the most successful team principals in F1 history, the pair have dominated the last 15 years of the sport, winning every drivers’ title on offer.
Horner has now been sacked by Red Bull amid a stark drop in performance, a year on from allegations about misconduct.
Yet even before that in 2021 things blew up when Max Verstappen beat Lewis Hamilton to the title in controversial scenes that Bottas had to witness as a teammate.
Things have never simmered down since, with Netflix picking up a scene in Canada in 2022 when Wolff told other team principals he would ‘come for them’ and that they were ‘playing a dangerous game’ over the rigidity of their cars.
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Horner accused Wolff of playing up to the cameras, and famously told him: “Change your f***ing car!”
Commenting on the pair’s rivalry, Bottas said: “I feel like between the team bosses there’s more friction than between any drivers.
“They’re also battling for their careers. In some cases they’re involved in the business in terms of ownership of the team. So again, big stakes.
“We’re talking about big money within the position. So it’s natural that there will be friction and clashes. Which is interesting and fun to follow sometimes.”
Any fans of the rivalry will have plenty more entertainment to come, with Wolff publicly chasing Horner’s star driver Verstappen for the 2026 season before the Brit was sacked by Red Bull.
As for who might replace Verstappen should he leave, Bottas is more than happy to pick up the challenge despite seeing numerous youngsters unable to get to grips with the Red Bull.
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“Everyone in the second seat has been always in trouble and now especially the gaps, they’re so small,” he explained.
“If you’re a few tenths off, you’re at the back. It’s hard when you’ve got a number one established main driver in the team who’s really built the team around himself.
“It’s not easy. But no matter, I would still jump in that seat if it was free.
“I think in that case, experience would help. When you’re driving with different cars and when you have years and years of experience, that will help.”
