F1 | The eighth season of Drive to Survive kicks off: here’s what you’ll find
Starting tomorrow, the eighth season of Drive to Survive will be available on Netflix, focusing on the 2025 Formula 1 world championship. The series, produced by the British company Box To Box Films, unfolds across eight episodes — two fewer than previous seasons — each built around its own storyline. Since its first release in 2019, Drive to Survive has divided opinion among long-time Formula 1 fans.
DTS (the acronym commonly used for the series) is not a faithful race-by-race account of a Formula 1 season — that is not its purpose, and it never has been. The goal of the production is to attract new fans, and in order to make the narrative accessible even to viewers unfamiliar with F1, storylines are simplified or occasionally stretched to suit storytelling needs. At the heart of the show lies the search for intrigue, all-out rivalries and heightened tension — sometimes amplified, but almost always rooted in a core of truth.
Purists may raise an eyebrow at certain reconstructions, yet one element alone makes the series worth watching: previously unseen footage, much of it captured behind the scenes. Backstage moments, off-the-record exchanges and raw outbursts (many entirely authentic) that, over time, Netflix’s direction has chosen not to tone down. From Jack Doohan’s frustration — forced to move under security escort during the Miami Grand Prix — to Liam Lawson’s disappointment after being dropped by Red Bull following just two race weekends, all the way to the dismissal of Christian Horner, one of the central figures the series had heavily relied upon in previous editions.
The day after the announcement of his departure from Red Bull, the Netflix crew travelled to Horner’s ranch in Oxfordshire, setting up an interview set in… a stable. This is precisely the added value of Drive to Survive: these unusual settings and statements that feel far less filtered than the ritualised exchanges of a race weekend. “Jos Verstappen has never been my biggest fan,” Horner admitted in a lengthy outburst, “and he has never hidden it. But I don’t believe the Verstappens were in any way responsible (for the dismissal). It was a decision made by Oliver Mintzlaff, with the advice of Helmut Marko.”
Following the departures of Gunther Steiner and Daniel Ricciardo — for years two of the show’s most recognisable faces — Horner’s exit will also weigh heavily on the narrative of future seasons. His rivalry with Toto Wolff (Horner even read out the message he received from the Mercedes team principal after learning of his dismissal) will be difficult to replace in the short term.
Elsewhere, the spotlight in season eight shines brightly on Zak Brown, who features prominently throughout. It is surprising, however, the angle chosen to portray the rivalry between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, packaged in an almost excessively “politically correct” version. No sharp backstage revelations, no controversial remarks — not even during the most heated moments: the Sundays at Monza and Singapore, or the Saturday in Austin. At those times, the cameras were not where they perhaps should have been — or maybe they were deliberately left off.
More compelling is the space devoted to the rookies, with Kimi Antonelli — also portrayed in his family environment — positioned in what feels like a long-term investment by the series. But the real new entry is undoubtedly Flavio Briatore, a perfect presence to fill the void left by Steiner. His comments about Doohan and Colapinto, almost entirely delivered in Italian, are pure “Briatore style” — and the crew’s visit to his Monaco residence is not to be missed. Noticeable, however, is the absence of Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and, above all, Max Verstappen, who appear via team radio and in official media interviews, but not in front of Netflix’s cameras.
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