Formula 1: Drive to Survive producers Box to Box Films have confirmed that season 4 has not been re-edited in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The latest episodes from the popular Netflix series will include footage of the Russian Grand Prix and recently-fired Haas driver Nikita Mazepin.
Young driver Mazepin, who featured for Haas during the first round of F1 testing ahead of the 2022 season, made his Formula 1 debut last season, while the cameras were rolling on season 4.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com, producers James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin confirmed that no footage had been removed from season 4 in the wake of the invasion.
Gay-Rees said: “Anything we filmed was six months ago so it’s totally historic. The world was a different place then, wasn’t it? Obviously, Haas took some of the livery off their car recently. Sadly, it’s unfolding so we’ll just see where it lands. It was a different time.
“We do feature it a bit. I’m not trying to side-step the question but even though I’ve watched the series about a thousand times, I can’t actually remember that much about it.”
Martin added: “It hasn’t affected any of our series. The Mazepins are in the Haas episode but as James said it was all filmed six months ago, so it’s all locked in.
“There is [footage] because his turnaround happens at Sochi but it’s fairly brief.”
On Wednesday, the European Union labelled Mazepin’s father, chemicals billionaire Dmitry Mazepin as “a member of the closest circle of Vladimir Putin”.
Both Dmitry and Nikita have been added to a list of Russian nationals facing sanctions by a host of nations, both in Europe and overseas.
The sanctions mean that even if Haas hadn’t terminated Mazepin’s contract, he may have been unable to race in multiple nations on the F1 2022 calendar.
Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 4 arrives on Netflix Friday 11th March. Seasons 1 to 3 are available now on Netflix. If you’re looking for something to watch, check out our TV Guide or visit our Sport hub.
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