Szafnauer taped 'Netflix' to his forehead to warn staff about Drive to Survive microphones

Otmar Szafnauer, the former team principal of Alpine and Racing Point, used a distinctly low-tech solution to protect paddock secrets during filming for Netflix’s Drive to Survive: a strip of tape across his forehead bearing the word ‘Netflix’.

Speaking on the High Performance Racing podcast, Szafnauer explained the logic behind the method. “I’ll tell you what I used to do whenever I was miked up and on the pitwall,” he said. “You could say all sorts of stuff because emotions were quite high and they recorded everything. I used to put a piece of tape across my forehead that said ‘Netflix’. So whenever anyone was talking to me, they could see I was miked up.”

Szafnauer clarified that he was not permanently wired during a season. The microphone was only fitted when his team was the central focus of a particular episode. “When we’re the story, I would be miked up, and I’d then be miked up on the grid,” he said.

Despite the show airing after the season in which its footage was captured, Szafnauer said the delay offered no real comfort when it came to sensitive information. “There is still some strategic stuff that you’re doing on the pitwall that you don’t want them to know,” he noted.

Drive to Survive, produced by Netflix and Box to Box Films, has granted viewers a behind-the-scenes look at the F1 paddock since its first season in 2019. The docuseries has been widely credited with driving a surge in the sport’s popularity in the United States and raising the public profiles of drivers by showcasing their personalities away from the track.