Why ‘Drive To Survive’ chose controversial Danica Patrick to join the sixth season

When Formula One fans watch the sixth season of “Drive To Survive” this week, they will see a new face on screen.

Danica Patrick, the pioneering former NASCAR and IndyCar driver whose conflicts are as many as her racing career, has been added to the lineup of talking heads on Netflix’s popular docuseries.

Co-executive producer Tom Rogers told The Post that Patrick’s divisive views had no bearing on the choice to include her to the panel of analysts, which also included broadcaster Will Buxton and former deputy team principal Claire Williams.

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Danica Patrick joined the sixth season of “Drive To Survive” as a Formula One expert.
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“We attempt to focus on the stories of the sport and with Danica, she brings a great perspective of … what it’s like to drive a racing car … and the challenges of the sport,” he said.

“The periphery to that is less important for us in the sense that she’s bringing a good contribution to the story,” he said.

Sam Altman was enjoying the F1 spectacular in Las Vegas when he discovered he had been dismissed from Open AI: WSJ
“I think she does a really good job explaining to our viewers some of the thought processes that the drivers are going through.”

Rogers stated that the team behind “Drive To Survive,” which has been credited with increasing Formula One’s global popularity since its debut in 2019, is searching for new voices to highlight “views and topics in the paddock.”

“Her background as a driver provides a really interesting perspective that we maybe haven’t tapped into before,” she remarked.

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The pioneering former IndyCar and NASCAR racer has become a divisive figure in the sporting world.

Despite being one of the world’s most successful women in motorsport, having won an IndyCar race and placed third at the 2009 Indy 500, Patrick is no stranger to controversy.

She has previously faced criticism for her “insensitive” remarks about past opponents, apparent support for Donald Trump, and for promoting conspiracy theories like aliens quietly living among us and UFOs being kept hidden from the public.

However, Patrick received the most criticism from the Formula One fraternity when she stated that it was “not normal” for the “feminine mind” to be geared toward motorsport achievement.

Jenson Button and Danica Patrick 3.
Patrick previously faced criticism for implying that Formula One was a “masculine” sport.
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“I believe the nature of the sport is masculine. “It’s aggressive,” she commented during the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix.

“You have to, you know, handle the car – not only just the car because that’s skill, but the mindset that it takes to be really good is something that’s not normal in a feminine mind, a female mind,” she went on to say.

“Formula 1: Drive to Survive” Season 6 premieres on February 23.