Danica Patrick absent from new Drive to Survive as former F1 champion features

Sky Sports F1 pundit Patrick appeared in season six of the hit Netflix docu-series last year

Danica Patrick is a notable absentee from the seventh season of Drive to Survive – with Jenson Button a new pundit on the show.

Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari, the Christian Horner scandal and Max Verstappen’s title win all feature in the new season of the popular Netflix docu-series, released on Friday.

But Sky Sports F1 pundit Patrick, the former IndyCar and NASCAR racer who appeared in season six, does not feature in the latest season.

Instead, Patrick’s Sky colleague Button – the 2009 F1 world champion – features briefly, alongside regular contributors Will Buxton and Claire Williams.

Patrick, the only woman to win an IndyCar Series race, is a familiar face to British viewers of F1 in the UK, with the 42-year-old featuring as a Sky pundit at races stateside and beyond.

In recent months, Patrick has been vocal in her support for US president Donald Trump, revealing prior to last year’s election that she would vote for the Republican candidate in what would be her first ever vote in a presidential election.

Buxton, who is now commentating on IndyCar for FOX, has appeared since the first season while former F1 team principal Williams joined the show last year.

Williams, the daughter of Williams F1 team founder Sir Frank Williams, is a regular voice of knowledge throughout the latest 10-episode season.

Speaking to The Independent about whether the latest season could be his last on the show given his departure from F1TV, Buxton said: “To be honest with you, I don’t know.

“They’ve always been very careful not to show me in situ in the paddock, I’ve always just been a talking head in a room.

Danica Patrick does not feature as a pundit in the latest season of Drive to Survive (Getty Images)

“So, I guess that could continue [with me] if they wanted to. I actually really hope we can, that would be lovely.

“I’m not just going to walk out of the F1 paddock and suddenly not talk to everybody that I have worked with. I’ll be back throughout the year, not on a TV screen with F1, but I’ll be going to some races.

“The fun part for me this year, ahead of one of the most exciting F1 seasons in a long time, is I get to enjoy this one as a fan. That’s really exciting for me.”

Buxton commentated on his first IndyCar race of the season, in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Sunday.

The seventh season of Drive to Survive is released on Netflix on 7 March. An eighth season for next year, though not yet formally announced, is expected to be agreed.