Ricciardo: Drive to Survive helped 'put F1 on the map' in the US

Ricciardo was one of the most visible figures in Drive to Survive, which spent multiple episodes tracking his decision to leave Red Bull at the end of 2018 in favour of a move to Renault.

Appearing on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Monday, Ricciardo spoke about the impact the Netflix series had on helping F1's growth in the United States, saying he could feel a noticeable difference since its release.

"I definitely feel F1 is becoming much more of a thing here in the States. Drive to Survive put it on the map," Ricciardo said.

"I spend a bit of time in the States, and up until a year ago, not really anyone would say 'Hi' to me - not in a bad way, but they wouldn't recognise me for being an F1 driver.

"And now it's all: 'We saw you on Netflix, it was great, Drive to Survive.' We wear helmets, so not many people can see our faces a lot of the time.

"Putting a face to a name, that helped."

F1 has cited the success of the Netflix series as being key in its growth among young fans, reporting earlier this year that 62 percent of new fans were under the age of 35.

Ricciardo proved a popular figure in the first series after being profiled as an entertaining figure when followed both at the circuits and away from it, including segments back in Australia with his family.

He added he felt it was important to maintain an element of fun, as in his view the more straight-laced drivers "don't help the sport".

"For me, growing up in Australia, in sunshine, it turns your personality into a bit of happiness," Ricciardo said.

"I'm doing my dream job. You have to be reminded sometimes, you get so competitive. Sometimes [you can get so] caught up in it that you do forget a little bit of perspective.

"I travel the world to drive cars in circles, which is pretty awesome."

Season two of Drive to Survive premieres on Netflix on February 28.