Drive to Survive producer explains the inclusion of controversial F1 journalist in 6th season

Season 6 of Netflix's Drive to Survive is around the corner, and co-producer Tom Rogers has unveiled the rationale behind the inclusion of a controversial F1 journalist in the series.

Former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick has joined forces with Netflix and will feature in the latest season of Drive to Survive, starting February 23. The racer-turned-journalist is infamous for making controversial comments, including expressing cold opinions about her former competitors and proposing the existence of aliens.

The 41-year-old will join the likes of renowned F1 journalist Will Buxton and Williams' former deputy team principal Claire Williams on the motorsports series. During her Drive To Survive stint, Patrick will be seen conversing with the drivers, crew members, and other people related to the sport.

Co-producer Tom Rogers recently shared the reason behind the inclusion of Danica Patrick in the show's roster, saying (via New York Post):

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

He added:

“I think she does a really good job explaining to our viewers some of the thought processes that the drivers are going through. Her background as a driver provides a really interesting perspective that we maybe haven’t tapped into before.”

Drive to Survive's Danica Patrick opened up about seeing women compete in the pinnacle of motorsport

Danica Patrick covered the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix for the Sky F1 broadcast team. During the race, she discussed the rarity of women in motorsports, suggesting that it was not normal for women to climb the ladder of Formula 1.

Patrick labeled Formula 1 as being a "masculine" sport that, according to her, was not a natural state for a feminine mind to occupy. She said (via PlanetF1):

“As I’ve always said in my whole career, it takes 100 guys to come through to find a good one, and then it takes 100 girls. That takes a long time to find a good one, right? It’s just, the odds are not in favour of there always being one or being many of them."

Patrick added:

“And at the end of the day, I think that the nature of the sport is masculine. It’s aggressive. 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."