“Apparently I was very upset after Miami": Max Verstappen takes a savage dig at Drive to Survive for pushing fake storylines

Reigning F1 World Champion Max Verstappen called out Netflix's Drive to Survive for his 'upset' portrayal at last year's Miami Grand Prix. The latest season of the show was recently released, and was one most trending shows on the platform in March.

In recent years, F1 has gained massive popularity in the US and other countries through Drive to Survive. The show focuses on the story of the past season, with insights from drivers, team principals, and pundits. It also focuses on the drivers' personal life.

While the show has brought F1 popularity, it has regularly faced backlash because of its dramatized storylines that can sometimes project a completely different picture of the drivers. In the latest season (season 7), Max Verstappen's portrayal after the end of the Miami Grand Prix depicts him to be 'upset,' as he mentioned in a recent Twitch live stream.

"Apparently I was very upset after Miami," Max Verstappen is heard saying. "I literally had the best time ever Sunday night. So, I don't know what I was upset about."

The 2024 Miami Grand Prix was the first race that season, since Australia, that Verstappen did not win. He finished in second place as Lando Norris clinched his maiden F1 victory.

Verstappen, 27, has been outspoken about the over-dramatization that Drive to Survive regularly pushes, giving the viewers a different portrayal of the drivers. This was one of the reasons that he had refused to participate in any direct interviews for the show in 2021, his championship-winning season.

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Max Verstappen could face tough challenge dominating as Red Bull engineer "not as happy" after pre-season testing

Max Verstappen dominated the F1 grid in 2022 and 2023 as he clinched multiple victories and the Drivers' World Championship. Red Bull Racing also managed to add another two Constructors' titles in their cabinet. However, last year turned out to be rather tough for them.

Their rivals, Ferrari, McLaren, and Mercedes had a positive developmental trajectory as they clinched more victories, and Verstappen could only finish consistently in points to keep his lead in the title race. Meanwhile, RBR dropped to third in the standings.

The upcoming season is expected to be quite a tricky challenge for the team as they would not only have to focus on this year's car, but also the 2026 challenger with the modified regulations.

As the pre-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit concluded earlier, the team's technical director Pierre Wache shared his remark on the car. He mentioned that he wasn't "as happy," but also revealed that the car is going in the right direction.

"I am not as happy as I could be because the car did not respond how we wanted at times, but it is going in the right direction," Wache said (via The Race). "Just maybe the magnitude of the direction was not as big as we expected and it’s something we need to work on for the first race and future development."

Considering his mixed review of the car, McLaren and Ferrari are expected to be strongest cars early in the season.