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Lewis Hamilton is set to star in the next series of Formula One's Netflix documentary.
The makers of Drive to Survive accused both Hamilton's Mercedes team and rivals' Ferrari of letting down the sport's fans after last season declining to take part in the 10-part programme.
As such, Hamilton's drive to his fifth world championship was virtually ignored.
Drive To Survive made no 7 in the top ten most watched docs on @NetflixUK in April! That coupled with a cracking (& exciting) #MonacoGP makes for a very happy post bank holiday Tuesday here💪🏽 #F1 https://t.co/1Fxneb5gb5 — F1 Drive To Survive (@BoxToBoxFilms) May 28, 2019
Mercedes believed filming would provide an unwelcome distraction, but following the success of the first series have now decided to participate.
F1's owners Liberty Media dreamt up the fly-on-the-wall documentary in order to crack the United States, and both Hamilton and Mercedes understand the value in having a presence in that market.
Hamilton, 34, recently featured in an interview with well-known American chat-show host David Letterman for the on-demand service.
So excited that my episode with @Letterman has now launched on @netflix. Some weekend watching for you guys! Let me know what you think 🤘🏾#MyNextGuest pic.twitter.com/XZjuAI6nnC — Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) May 31, 2019
While it is understood that Mercedes are yet to put pen-to-paper on terms with Netflix, they are poised to provide behind-the-scenes access at July's German Grand Prix. They are also open to co-operating with them at subsequent races.
A spokesperson for Ferrari told the Press Association that discussions with Netflix are ongoing.
F1 are yet to officially confirm a second series but filming has already taken part this season. British team McLaren opened their doors to the programme makers at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in April, and are set to collaborate with them at their home race at Silverstone next month.
"We don't say you have to participate, that is not the way Formula One works," said the sport's commercial boss, Sean Bratches, who was listed as an executive producer for the first series.
"But we want to construct things that are compelling, drives the sport forward, and ostensibly address the majority of our team participants.
"In retrospect, it was actually a very good thing for the sport that Mercedes and Ferrari did not participate because it made room for the other eight teams. We saw storylines and narratives that you might not have seen otherwise.
"At the same time, I hope the success of the series and subsequent interest in it will attract them to it this year."
