There would be no Drive To Survive docu-series without Daniel Ricciardo, claims producer Paul Martin.
Drive To Survive has been credited with rocketing the popularity of Formula 1, especially in the United States.
The fifth season of the Netflix show is due to be released in the coming days, on the eve of the 2023 F1 campaign.
Ricciardo, who possesses one of the most expressive personalities on the F1 grid, is a fan favourite for his light-hearted nature and joke-making character.
However, the Australian will not race in F1 this year after enduring two difficult seasons with McLaren.
Instead, Ricciardo has returned to Red Bull in a third river role as he ponders a return to the grid in 2024.
“Without Daniel I think there probably wouldn’t have been a Drive to Survive,” Martin told The Post.
“He was the first driver that we talked to about it, the first driver that invited us to his home in Australia. I felt very emotional with him leaving.”
However, Ricciardo isn’t the only driver that the series is thankful for due to their story and the access they provided.
“For me, [Pierre] Gasly has always been in that role as well,” Martin said. “The show’s been on this amazing journey with Pierre and I feel quite emotionally attached to him.
“We’ve seen him go through some incredible lows: the season where he was demoted [from Red Bull Racing] and Anthoine [Hubert] died. So to see him finally get a chance again in a competitive car is going to be great.
“He’s grown on screen as a driver and as a person, so I think he’ll be someone who will really fill the gap that Daniel leaves.”
Despite not being present on the full-time grid this year, Martin has Ricciardo to make a return in the coming years.
“It is a soap opera: characters get killed off, they come back, new characters come on,” Martin added. “I’m a big fan of the old ’80s soap operas so it feels a bit like Bobby Ewing. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Daniel pop up in the show at some point this year.
“He’s such a character… if a few teams start to go wrong and it doesn’t feel like their drivers are working out, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Daniel back in a seat.”
