The Formula One season is full of excitement and drama to entertain fans over the course of the entire year, but during off season one can get a little restless waiting for the races to start back up. During the weeks before the first race, I can’t seem to focus on anything else, which is why it’s good that Netflix releases their yearly season of Drive to Survive right before the next season is about to start. Drive to Survive is a reality show/documentary produced by Netflix that offers fans a chance to see what happens off-track in the glamorous world of Formula One. “Since the first season in 2019, the show has covered much more than just podium fights — including contract negotiations, midfield rivalries, driver backgrounds, the pressure on team principals, and the demanding nature of an F1 season,” F1 media reported. The show quickly became a staple in F1 fandom culture, with it even spearheading a wave of new fans into the sport.
Drive to Survive was the reason why I got into watching the sport. Before discovering the show, I knew next to nothing about Formula One other than having seen Lewis Hamilton’s picture on social media. After one season of Drive to Survive, though, I was hooked. I remember the first season I watched was season 4, which covered the 2021 F1 season and the famous Lewis Hamilton vs. Max Verstappen championship battle. Season 4 was pure drama from the start, with them leaning heavily into the Hamilton/Verstappen title fight that was decided during the final lap of the Abu Dhabi race, where Verstappen reigned victorious. Needless to say, I’ve watched every season since then and followed the sport religiously. The show proved to be a great starting point for me as someone who gradually wanted to learn more about the sport. However, although they do a good job of covering the bases, the show does have its downsides.
More than a documentary experience, Drive to Survive is a reality show at its core. This means their main goal will always be to extract the most drama possible and to frame storylines and people in a way that’ll make it more interesting for the average consumer to watch. This can cause a lot of misinformation surrounding the sport and it’s led some fans to view the drivers in real life the way they are portrayed in the show. One of the narratives that Drive to Survive has helped push is the mischaracterization of Max Verstappen, who has been one of the most polarizing figures in the sport during the last few years. With his aggressive driving style and pointed comebacks during press conferences, he’s gathered a bit of a reputation as the villain of the sport. The show has pushed this persona during the last few seasons. The most recent example is season 8, where Verstappen’s comeback during the 2025 season was shown. They included a clip of McLaren CEO, Zack Brown, calling him “the bad guy in a horror movie that just kept coming back,” followed by a very dramatic edit.
Verstappen has proven himself to be a controversial figure on and off track, but the show downplays both his tactical and general knowledge of the sport. Fans who learn about Verstappen outside of the show know that he has extensive knowledge of how the cars work and strategy crafting. Whether you love or hate him, Verstappen’s legacy is too impressive to be reduced to simply “the villain of the paddock.”
Another point is teammate rivalries. Every season one or two teams are singled out to emphasize the internal battle between their drivers. It’s no secret that in this sport your teammate is your biggest rival, but the show can sometimes exaggerate aspects to make for a more exciting episode. When it comes to these storylines, it’s all or nothing; they either show too much or too little. With season 8, it was the latter. The championship battle between McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri was handled in a peculiar way. It was like they put both drivers on a seesaw and shifted the weight completely to favor one depending on the episode. In reality, the battle was a lot tighter than they made it seem with Norris and Piastri competing for podiums and race wins almost every week.
The final point I wanted to highlight is actually what isn’t shown. As per the format of television, the show has a limited number of episodes to cover a year’s worth of news and races. However, sometimes they don’t know how to properly distribute their storylines to capture the most important moments. One example I can think of is the omission of both Franco Colapinto’s and Ollie Bearman’s debuts in season 7, which focused on the 2024 F1 season. Both Bearman and Colapinto stepped onto the paddock for the first time, Bearman in Ferrari red while substituting Carlos Sainz during the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and Colapinto in Williams blue during the Italian Grand Prix after replacing the American driver, Logan Sargent, for the rest of the season. Both of these were considered major storyline omissions since Bearman managed to score points during his first ever race in a Formula One car and Colapinto brought in a new surge of Latin American viewers when he joined the sport. In addition to this, they’ve also failed to show other key races and moments that were significant to the overall turnout of the season.
Even though I have my criticisms, I do think Drive to Survive is a good starting point for new fans. It does a good job at introducing viewers to the drivers, the teams, and the overall structure of the sport. However, when watching, just remember that it’s a reality show and things can be exaggerated for views. If you enjoy Drive to Survive, I guarantee you’ll enjoy the actual Formula One season even more.