Formula 1 Drive to Survive producers on Daniel Ricciardo's "genuine crisis" in season 4
James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin have praised Daniel Ricciardo for his authenticity in season 4 of Formula 1: Drive to Survive
The producers of Formula 1: Drive to Survive have praised Daniel Ricciardo for opening up to the cameras in moments of "genuine crisis" in season 4.
Executive producers James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin picked out Ricciardo as one particular character who has bared his soul to the cameras with "pretty brave... pretty incredible" moments throughout the run of the show.
The fourth season of the smash-hit Netflix series aims to spotlight on McLaren in episode two as the experienced Ricciardo struggles to get to grips with his new surroundings.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, Gay-Rees said: "Obviously, [the F1 drivers] want to come out of it well but they're being very honest about it, the access is pretty authentic.
"A character like Daniel Ricciardo, who we have filmed with a lot over the years, has some tough times and we highlight them in the season and he doesn't shrink away from that.
"There's there's one bit with Daniel Ricciardo, when he's really struggling and he's having a genuine crisis. He didn't tell us to turn the cameras off and if I had been him I think I probably would have done. He was very low and you're in there with him and it's pretty arresting."
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Ricciardo started the season in the shadow of young teammate Lando Norris, who went on to finish sixth in the F1 2021 standings, three places and 45 points ahead of Ricciardo.
The Australian driver isn't afraid to bare his emotions in front of the camera and that's not an exclusive aspect of season 4.
Martin said: "We've probably run the spectrum of Dani, from from being at Red Bull, the big decision that he made going to Renault, the situation with Cyril and then getting to McLaren.
"You think this is a perfect fit for Dani, he's with Lando, it's just going to work... and then it doesn't. For the first six months of last year, it really felt like this is really not going to work out for Dani.
"Having spent a lot of time with Dani and got to know him, you felt that on a personal level as well. What's great about it though is that he has consistently given us access at all those different points. At the highs, the wins and the real lows.
"It always surprises me every year when you're in the edit and you're like: 'Did we really get that moment? That's pretty brave, that's pretty incredible.'"
Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 4 arrives on Netflix Friday 11th March. Seasons 1 to 3 are available now on Netflix. If you’re looking for something to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our Sport hub.
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Authors
Michael Potts is the Sport Editor for Radio Times, covering all of the biggest sporting events across the globe with previews, features, interviews and more. He has worked for Radio Times since 2019 and previously worked on the sport desk at Express.co.uk after starting his career writing features for What Culture. He achieved a first-class degree in Sports Journalism in 2014.
