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    Huge Drive to Survive star reveals he never watched a single episode of hit Netflix show ahead of 2023 F1 season

    NETFLIX’S new instalment of their hit F1 show “Drive to Survive” airs on Friday but one of the stars of the series has never watched a single episode.Haas boss Guenther Steiner was the key character in the first series, which has been responsible for helping propel F1’s success across the globe.
    Drive to Survive is set to be released on Friday, February 24
    Haas boss Guenther Steiner has gained popularity from the seriesCredit: Splash
    The sport’s popularity is booming – three sold-out races in the US, a joint-record 23-race calendar with more circuits clambering to join along with some new teams – F1 has never had it so good.
    Anyone who has watched the show will know that Steiner – and his F-word rants – can lay claim to helping boost F1’s appeal – but as he puts it, he’s still waiting for F1 to provide him with a big cheque to say thank you.
    “I have never watched an episode,” he says. “In the beginning I didn’t want to watch because I don’t really enjoy watching myself.
    “I also didn’t want to get influenced to change when I am doing something. If you are an actor, you learn from your mistakes.
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    “I don’t want to be an actor because maybe everytime I see a camera, it may have an effect on how I behave.
    “It sounds very complex but for me it was a very simplistic thought process and now if I start to watch it, it was OK in the beginning, so why go back and change now?”
    Steiner says he jokes with F1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali and business tycoon, Greg Maffei, who is the CEO of Liberty Media CEO, who own the rights to F1, about his influence in the show.
    The likeable Italian is now an icon thanks to playing himself and his popularity is staggering.
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    He added: “We always joke with Stefano and Greg but you know, they have not reached out and told me they are sending a cheque!
    “Stefano has known me for 20 years and knows I am the same person and nothing has changed. It is part of what we are doing.
    “But I am recognised a lot more. The strange thing is you never know when you are alone or not.
    “You can be sitting somewhere and you’re thinking nobody knows you and you forget about it and then someone says your name, but it is nothing bad, especially in the States, people are well behaved and ask for a picture.
    “For my family, when the first series came out, my daughter was eight and people called your name or stopped me on the street and she would ask me if I knew these guys, and I was like no, but now it is not an issue.”
    Steiner says he is not shocked by just how popular the fly-on-the-wall series has been but he is surprised about how it has changed the shape of F1 commercially.
    His team, and the same of others on the grid, have been able to attract sponsorship they would not have been able to after Liberty Media opened up the sport to a wider audience.
    He said: “F1 gives a lot of interesting things to the fans. To the new fans, it opens it up and they are telling the story.
    “F1 missed out on not telling the story. Can you imagine if it would have started up maybe 20 years ago?
    “Liberty Media understood the entertainment and they came in and realised there is a bigger story to be told.
    “It has been a benefit to teams. A lot of sponsors come in because they want to be seen and it has done well for all the teams.
    “The big teams are not the only ones people are interested in.
    Before, you only saw the big teams on TV but now on normal TV they show the smaller teams as well because people are interested in what they are doing as well.
    “We have been put on the map for sponsors that we are an interesting team, even if we are not winning races yet.”
    Steiner saw his team kick off pre-season testing in Bahrain on Thursday ahead of the season-opener on March 5th.
    He has picked veteran Nico Hulkenberg to replace Mick Schumacher, who is now a reserve driver at Mercedes.
    Steiner was also linked with a move for Daniel Ricciardo, who finds himself as a reserve at Red Bull after turning down Haas.
    It seemed like a backward step for the Aussie to turn down a seat on the grid, but Steiner has no hard feelings.
    He said: “Nico is settling in really well. All the interaction is as expected. There was a plan because he was an experienced person and he is giving guidance to the guys.
    “As for Daniel, I am not disappointed. Everybody can take his decision. If Danny had no interest, I respect that he did not waste my time in speaking with me.
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    “I respect that fully. It was pretty clear when he did not engage that he had no interest and I did not call back to show that I was desperate so it was a fair way of dealing with it.
    “I am very OK with the attitude because he did not waste my time and we can both get on like we did before.” More

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    Michael Schumacher documentary sheds new light on his home life as throwback pic shows him cradling baby Max Verstappen

    A TOUCHING rare photo of Michael Schumacher has been released showing him cradling future double world F1 champion Max Verstappen. Seven-time champ Michael is seen smiling as he sits in a hanging chair with the baby driver in his lap alongside his own daughter, Gina-Maria.
    Drive to Survive reveals the closeness between the Verstappens and SchumachersCredit: EPA
    Michael Schumacher pictured with Max (R) and his daughter Gina-MariaCredit: netflix
    Michael meets with a very young Max
    The photo was released as part of Netflix’s hit F1 show Drive to Survive and features in episode 4 – Like Father, Like Son? – with the series being released tomorrow.
    In an exclusive preview granted to The Sun Online, Max talks about growing up alongside the Schumacher family – including Michael’s son Mick, who also went on to race in F1.
    The double world champion – who broke Sir Lewis Hamilton’s four-year stranglehold on the F1 title – is the son of Michael’s former Benetton teammate Jos Verstappen.
    And so the Schumachers and the Verstappens became close, with Mick, 23, and Max, 25, sharing a bond which endured as they both rose through the racing ranks into the top flight.
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    The show includes a rare clip showing Jos and Michael discussing if they would let their children became F1 drivers in an interview filmed during the 00s.
    The question prompts a laugh from Michael.
    “I think this could be the first time we have an argument if our two would be racing,” says the German.
    The documentary then shows Max as a toddler hanging out with Michael.
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    “We used to go on holidays when we were little together, the two families, and these kind of memories will stay with me,” explains Max, who is now a 35-time race winner in F1.
    “For both of us to be in F1 is amazing and also for Michael, he’s a very proud dad for sure.”
    Drive to Survive then cuts of a picture of Michael holding Max and Gina-Maria that must have been taken in the late 90s.
    Gina-Maria, now 26, did not go into motorsport – instead following her mum Corinna’s passion and becoming a horse rider.
    The incredibly touching photo – released in full clarity for the first time by Netflix – was revealed as Michael continues his recovery after his horror ski crash in 2013.
    Michael has not been seen in public ever since – with any information about his condition tightly controlled by his privacy-focused family led by wife Corinna.
    Fans are desperate for news – with the tenth anniversary of Schumacher’s accident coming up in December.
    And adding to further heartache for fans of the Schumachers, Mick lost his F1 seat at the Haas team at the end of 2022.
    He was replaced by F1 journeyman Nico Hulkenberg – and will have sit out 2023 as a reserve driver at Mercedes behind Sir Lewis and his hotshot teammate George Russell.
    Max Verstappen is a two time world champion – winning in 2021 and 2022Credit: Getty
    Mick Schumacher lost his seat at the end of 2022Credit: Splash
    Drive to Survive charts Mick’s difficult sophomore season in 2022 – including his horror 170mph accident in Saudi Arabia.
    Mick’s rough year saw him outscored by his teammate, the returning Danish veteran Kevin Magnussen.
    The show outlines Mick’s struggles – and the pressure that came with racing under the name “Schumacher”.
    “Mick has the lineage of one of the greatest driver’s the sport has ever seen,” says F1 journalist Will Buxton.
    “But it remains to be seen if [he] has the same character as his dad.”
    Haas boss Steiner said the Schumacher name explains the name was “blessing and a curse” for Mick.
    But in characteristically non-nonsense fashion, the famously foul-mouthed team principal says at some point the young German will have “stand up” and be his “own man”.
    Mick opens up about his struggles with pressure in the show, including the candid admission that “dreams don’t always come true”.
    His dad Michael is one of the greatest F1 drivers of all time, dominating the sport in the early 2000s after rising to power in the 90s.
    He raced from 1991 to 2006, and again from 2010 to 2012 – a second act of his career which saw him become instrumental in setting up the dominant Mercedes team.
    The German won five world championships with Ferrari and two for Benetton.
    Schumacher retired in 2012, but just a year later he was involved in the life-changing skiing accident while on the slopes with Mick.
    He was left in a medically induced coma before being released home and then ever since it has been near silence on the driver’s condition.
    His family, led by wife Corinna, closely protect Michael’s privacy and offer him a quiet life.
    Since then there have only been hints and cryptic rumours about Schumacher’s health with drip fed information from friends and unnamed sources.
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    But the only people who know for sure are Schumacher’s family and his closest pals.
    Mick will be Mercedes reserve driver in 2023 – backing up Lewis Hamilton and George RussellCredit: Twitter More

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    Lewis Hamilton’s boss Toto Wolff and rival Max Verstappen slam F1’s Drive to Survive on Netflix ahead of new series

    MAX VERSTAPPEN and Toto Wolff have expressed concerns over Drive to Survive with the hit series days away from its fifth season release. The fly-on-the-wall documentary series follows all 10 teams and provides fans with an insight to the drama that is missed by standard TV coverage.
    Drive to Survive is widely believed to have boosted F1’s popularity among younger audiences
    It has proven to be a huge hit and is often cited as a factor in F1’s popularity boom in recent years.
    But the series is not everyone’s cup of tea, including those at the centre of the drama.
    Verstappen, 25, initially refused to do any talking head interviews despite his boss, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, being one of the series’ main protagonists.
    But the Dutchman has dropped his boycott this year despite the unflattering review he provided ahead of the fourth season’s release previously.
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    He said: “They faked a few rivalries which don’t really exist. So I decided to not be a part of it and did not give any more interviews after that because then there is nothing you can show.
    “I am not really a dramatic show kind of person, I just want facts and real things to happen.
    “The problem is they will always position you in a way they want, so whatever you say, they will try to make you look reckless or trying to make you… whatever fits the story of the series.
    “So I never really liked that. I prefer to just have a one-on-one interview with the person who would like to know me.”
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    Lewis Hamilton’s boss Wolff revealed similar misgivings last year.
    He said: “It’s scary how much we let them in. You hate to see yourself in there. They create a spin to the narrative – they put scenes together that didn’t happen.
    “I guess you’d say as an insider, ‘well that’s different than how it was’. But we’re creating entertainment, and that is a new dimension of entertainment.”
    The most recent series of Drive to Survive followed F1’s most dramatic and explosive title race ever with Hamilton and Verstappen’s rivalry resulting in huge crashes and unprecedented last-lap drama.
    The upcoming series – which is released on February 24 – will review the 2022 season which saw Verstappen dominate, Mercedes struggle and Ferrari unravel. More

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    Michael Schumacher fans outraged at cruel ‘dead man walking’ jibe at F1 star son Mick in Netflix’s Drive To Survive

    MICHAEL Schumacher fans have slammed a Netflix show for featuring a comment calling his son a “dead man walking” after the ex-F1 star’s horror ski accident.Creators of the latest season of docuseries Formula 1: Drive to Survive – which drops next week – have been branded “tone deaf” over an episode focusing on Mick Schumacher.
    Michael Schumacher fans have hit out at Netflix for including a ‘vile’ comment about his sonCredit: PA:Press Association
    Mick pictured with dad Michael Schumacher in 2008Credit: PA
    In one clip, Gene Haas – owner of Haas F1 Team – can be heard calling the German racing driver a “dead man walking” while on the phone to team manager Guenther Steiner.
    The US businessman was slating the 23-year-old’s performance in the Monaco Grand Prix in 2022 after he lost control of his car on lap 27 before the motor split in half.
    But fans have called the inclusion of the comment “vile” given his dad suffered a near-fatal skiing accident.
    Viewers also fumed over how the soon to be released episode is titled Like Father, Like Son?.
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    One fan said: “The fact that Netflix titled the episode about Mick ‘Like Father, like son?’ and refer to Mick as a ‘dead man walking’ is truly disgusting and vile??
    “How didn’t anyone in that meeting think that that’s maybe not the best idea.”
    Another social media user commented: “That’s horrible to both Mick and Michael.”
    A third wrote: “Wow that is so tone deaf and disrespectful.”
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    Mick’s legendary dad Michael Schumacher was put into a medically induced coma for six months after suffering a catastrophic brain injury in December 2013.
    He fell and hit his head on a rock while crossing an off-piste area on the slopes above Méribel in the French Alps while skiing with son Mick – who was 14 at the time.
    Schumacher, who had 91 Grand Prix wins, suffered a serious head injury despite wearing a ski helmet.
    Doctors said he would most likely have died had he not been wearing the safety gear, and the world champ was airlifted to Grenoble Hospital.
    The ex-F1 champ has not been seen or heard from since his accident.
    It comes after Mick paid a touching tribute to his father at Mercedes’ car launch.
    The F1 team unveiled the new-look car for the 2023 season on Wednesday.
    And Mick paid tribute to his dad by wearing the same helmet as the seven-time champion.
    The gold helmet was adorned with black stars on the top and has a Mercedes logo in the middle.
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    Schumacher drove for Mercedes at the end of his career between 2010-2012.
    And now his son is part of the team, signing up as the third driver following his exit from Haas.
    Gene Haas called Mick a ‘dead man walking’ after a raceCredit: Getty
    Haas was blasting Mick’s performance in the 2022 Monaco F1 Grand PrixCredit: Reuters
    An upcoming episode of Formula 1: Drive to Survive focuses on MichCredit: The Mega Agency
    Schumacher, pictured in 2003, suffered a near-fatal ski accident nine years agoCredit: AFP More

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    Star dog of Netflix show Gunther’s Millions bought two football clubs and appointed two porn stars as club president

    NETFLIX series Gunther’s Millions unpacks the incredible story of Gunther the dog and the crazy lifestyle lived in its name.Part of which included the dog buying an Italian football team and hiring porn stars to the club board.
    Netflix series Gunther’s Millions tells the crazy story of Gunther the dog, who is from a long line of German Shepherds with a mysterious fortuneCredit: Alamy
    The money is controlled by Italian entrepreneur Maurizio Mian (left)Credit: Alamy
    Mian once bought an Italian football team in Gunther’s name and installed porn star Valentine Demy (pictured) as presidentCredit: Alamy
    Porn star Ilona Staller was appointed club ‘godmother’Credit: Alamy
    The four-part series tells the tale of Gunther VI, the world’s richest dog with a net worth of £300million and heir to a mysterious fortune.
    Gunther is from a long line of filthy rich German Shepherds.
    However, the money is actually controlled by Italian entrepreneur and pharmaceutical heir Maurizio Mian, who used some of it to buy a football club and hire porn stars to the board.
    The 66-year-old eccentric is CEO of media company The Gunther Corporation, and Gunther’s guardian.
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    The company uses Gunther the dog as a figurehead for its investments.
    In 2002 the Gunther Reform Trust bought Italian side Pisa, who were in the third-tier of Italian football at the time.
    And dog Gunther IV was duly named honorary club president.
    Despite being a pooch, fans of rival team Livorno once unfurled a banner targeted at Gunther that read “Poisoned meatballs for Gunther”, according to Goal.
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    Three years later the company sold the club, but the crazy story does not end there.
    Mian’s Gunther Corporation then bought a controlling interest in another lower league Italian side, U.S. Citta di Pontedera.
    It was there that famous porn star Ilona Staller was appointed club ‘godmother’, while fellow porn star Valentine Demy was named club president.
    Italian journalist Massimo Marini commented, via Salon, that the choice to hire porn stars for the football club: “represents a common thread in Maurizio’s life.”
    Marini added: “He’s always wanted to impress and amaze, to draw attention, even knowing such things would create problems and lead to serious missteps.” More

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    Max Verstappen opens up on Netflix U-turn as F1 champ is set to star in Drive to Survive

    FORMULA ONE champion Max Verstappen decided to appear on Netflix’s Drive to Survive series after holding talks with producers.Verstappen will star in the fifth season, which will be released on February 24 and will focus on the star’s dominant 2022 season.
    Max Verstappen will star on Netflix’s new season Drive to SurviveCredit: AP
    Max Verstappen held talks with Netflix bosses before changing his mindCredit: Reuters
    The Dutch star previously refused to participate in the filming because he claimed it gives a false portrayal of what goes on behind the scenes in F1.
    However, the 25-year-old held talks with the creators and was satisfied with how they addressed his concerns before making his U-turn.
    Verstappen said: “I always wanted to be part of it but said it needs to be a realistic image of how I am.
    “That’s why we needed to talk about it first and they understood my side of it, and I understand in general that when you create a show there needs to be drama and it needs to be exciting.
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    “But I’m a guy who thinks it’s also important that you are portrayed well, and not start to have comments put under different footage, when it didn’t happen like that.
    “So I explained that was my view and that otherwise I didn’t want to be a part of it.
    “They understood, so we’ll see once it comes out what they made of it.
    “But I’m positive, of course, because I know it’s important for Formula 1.
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    “I just focus on my job and I know the media is a part of it. You deal with it and grow up as a person, in racing and in life personally.
    “When that happens, you can probably deal with stuff easier than five or six years ago.”
    The new season will air on Netflix just before the Bahrain Grand Prix, which will open the 2023 season. More

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    Cristiano Ronaldo’s girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez sends fans wild in low cut top to promote season 2 of Netflix show

    GEORGINA RODRIGUEZ gave fans a taste of what’s to come as she promoted the upcoming second season of her hit Netflix show.The programme, Soy Georgina, which translates to “I am Georgina”, will return in March for another series.
    Georgina Rodriguez’s Netflix show is returning for a second seriesCredit: Instagram @georginagio
    Georgina promoted the return of her show on social mediaCredit: Instagram @netflixes
    The Spaniard has followed partner Cristiano Ronaldo to Saudi ArabiaCredit: Getty
    Ronaldo recently signed for Saudi side Al-NassrCredit: Getty
    Georgina and Ronaldo have been together since 2017Credit: PA
    It comes after the show starring Cristiano Ronaldo’s partner debuted in January 2022.
    Georgina, 28, posted the new promotional poster to her 45.4million Instagram followers.
    She sent fans wild in a low cut black top while brandishing a bank card like a football referee and holding a whistle to her lips.
    The poster said: “Let’s go for the double.”
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    It confirmed a second series of the show will hit screens later this year.
    And fans can’t wait for it to return.
    One replied to her: “Yayyy save the date.”
    Another gushed: “So excited.”
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    And a third added: “I love it, I can’t wait to watch it.”
    The first series of the programme, which followed Georgina and her glitzy life, also featured Ronaldo.
    Her latest post comes after Georgina stunned on the red carpet at last weekend’s Joy Awards in Saudi Arabia.
    She is adjusting to life in her new home after Ronaldo signed for Saudi side Al-Nassr.
    He made his debut for the club in a 1-0 win over Ettifaq on Sunday, having scored twice for Saudi All Stars in a friendly against Paris Saint-Germain last week.
    Ronaldo made his Al-Nassr debut on SundayCredit: Getty
    The Portuguese forward failed to find the back of the net on his debutCredit: Getty More

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    Explosive Netflix doc alleges Qatar World Cup chief ‘offered THREE African nations £1.3m to back 2022 bid’

    A MEMBER of Qatar’s World Cup bid has sensationally claimed three African officials were offered money to back the Arab nation in its bid for the tournament.They are claimed to have been offered £1.3million in exchange for their vote.
    Qatar were confirmed as 2022 World Cup hosts in 2010Credit: AP
    Hassan Al Thawadi is alleged to have offered money to three African nationsCredit: AP
    Phaedra Almajid, in charge of international press for the bid, made the allegations in the explosive new Netflix series, Fifa Uncovered.
    Qatar won hosting rights for the 2022 tournament in a Fifa vote ahead of Australia, Japan, South Korea, and the USA.
    And Almaji alleges Hassan Al Thawadi, the head of the bid, offered money to Fifa chiefs from Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Nigeria in order to secure their vote.
    Al Thawadi is now Secretary General of the Supreme Committee in charge of the 2022 World Cup.
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    He is claimed to have made the offer to Issa Hayatou (Cameroon), Jacques Anouma (Ivory Coast), and Amos Adamu (Nigeria).
    Almajid told the doc: “We were talking about how Africa had been given its chance to host the World Cup and how the Arab world should be given their chance, and then Hassan offered Hayatou $1 million for Hayatou’s football federation [Cameroon] and in return we wanted his vote.
    “I remember there just being laughter and then him saying that is not enough, and so the price was upped to $1.5 million (£1.3m) — just like that. It was just so simple: ‘We will give you this money for your football federation, you give us your vote and thank you so much.’
    “One by one we did the same thing with Anouma and Adamu. $1.5 million was offered to each member that evening in exchange for their vote. It was verbal, I never saw money.”
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    Almajid alleges the offer came at a meeting of African football federations in January 2010, just under a year before the Fifa vote for the 2022 host nation.
    All three African officials have denied any wrongdoing.
    Almajid claims the proposed money was made to the federations, rather than the individuals themselves.
    She added: “It was made very clear the money was going to football, it was never said it is going into your pocket, I do need to emphasise that. Where it ended up I have no idea.
    “Before I went back to my hotel room, Hassan told me, ‘You never repeat this ever again to anyone’ and I was like, ‘OK.’”
    Al Thawadi has strongly denied the claims.
    He said: “My reaction, especially on the Phaedra situation, it’s frustration.”
    “They are inherently false and there are facts on the ground that prove they are false.”
    Almajid anonymously revealed the alleged offers to the Sunday Times after being sacked by Qatar’s bid, and later signed a statement withdrawing her claims.
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    Detailing why, Almajid explained in the doc: “I’m starting to get threats, anonymous calls, emails, social media.
    “I was basically told either you sign an affidavit stating that you lied or else we are legally going to come after you.” More