Red Bull Racing Joins the Pile-On After Netflix’s “Hot Drivers” F1 Promo Bombs on Social Media
Brand-on-brand sniping is usually reserved for fast food chains squabbling over chicken sandwiches. This week it arrived in Formula 1 , with the official Red Bull Racing account using its X feed to take a swing at Netflix over a promotional clip the streamer probably wishes it had never posted in the first place. What happened, if you missed it: Netflix put up a post captioned “How to get your friend into Formula 1,” using a clip from the comedy Running Point in which one character shows another a picture of Carlos Sainz and reacts by calling F1 drivers “hot European guys with perfect cheekbones.
” What was implied is that the way to recruit a new fan is to point at the grid and say that the men driving the cars are attractive. Whether that’s cute or condescending depends entirely on whether you’ve spent the last five years arguing with people who assume you only watch the sport for the drivers’ jawlines. I mean, I’m jealous of their jawlines, but it’s about the racing, people!
Why the Backlash Hit Harder Than Netflix Expected The replies turned ugly pretty quickly. Fans called it the worst representation of F1 they had ever seen, questioned who exactly had popularised the idea that drivers are heartthrobs, and complained that female fans had spent years being taken seriously only for Netflix to drag the conversation back to looks. Another reply blamed the Americanisation of the sport for turning the paddock into a celebrity-influencer playground.
Red Bull’s social account, never shy about dunking on a target, joined in rather than letting Netflix’s awkward moment pass quietly. Coming from a team account rather than a fan account, it was definitely heard by fans who are currently pushing against F1’s new regulations. Red Bull is one of the biggest subjects of Drive to Survive and one of the brands whose access keeps the docuseries running.
A team in that position openly mocking its biggest media partner is a tell that the relationship between the grid and Netflix has cooled considerably. It also fits in with what Max Verstappen has been saying for a while. The Dutchman has spent years calling out Drive to Survive for fake storylines and most recently criticised the show for misrepresenting how he reacted to losing the 2024 Miami Grand Prix to Lando Norris .