"There's no real issue" - George Russell on staging his move to Mercedes for Netflix's Drive to Survive

Episode 8 of the Netflix docu-series Drive to Survive, "Dances With Wolff", covers George Russell's move from Williams to Mercedes. This episode from the latest season shows team boss Toto Wolff in a conversation with the Briton, telling him that he would be driving up against seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2022.

This scene was filmed in Zandvoort, when in reality, he was informed about the same in Spa, implying that the scene was staged. Highlighting the impact that the series has had on F1, Russell claimed that staging the scene for the benefit of the show was "no real issue." He said:

“You know Netflix is so important for all of us in Formula 1. We have seen the change the sport has had for the better over the years, the increased fan interaction, new people coming into the sport. People have been very vocal about it [Drive to Survive], you know, being dramatized a little bit. But at the end of the day, you always want to show the best light of your sport and your story, as in any documentary that there is. Netflix is unique. As long as it’s having a positive impact on Formula 1, I think there’s no real issue.”

Despite heavy criticism for heavily overdramatized storylines and misinterpretations of real-life events, Drive to Survive has largely influenced the swiftly growing popularity of the sport.

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George Russell expected to bring a "nice twist" to Mercedes

Former F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya recently claimed that Russell is bringing in valuable experience with him in his first season with Mercedes alongside Lewis Hamilton.

As reported by PlanetF1, Montoya shared his expectations from this cracking duo at Mercedes, saying:

“I think being in the environment he’s now in will be a lot harder, and having Lewis as a team-mate will be hard, but at the same time he’s fast. He knows the tracks and has worked with Mercedes before. That for me will bring a really nice twist to the Mercedes fight. Who will be ahead between those two?”

George Russell has been vocal about his plans to take this year to fight his rivals at Red Bull and Ferrari as a team, and not battle it out on track with his team-mate.