The eighth installment of “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” brought back all of the drama from the 2025 F1 season. Between rookie races, driver trades and team reconstructions, this season covered what was one of the most competitive F1 seasons in recent years.
“Drive to Survive” makes F1 accessible for casual fans and interested onlookers who do not watch every race in the season. Netflix’s inside access to the race track gives even devoted fans of the sport information that they would not otherwise have unless they pay close attention to rumors and news during the season. With its fast-paced editing and energetic music tracks, the bingeable docuseries provides excitement for viewers in over 190 countries.
Episode one, “New Kids On The Track,” introduces audiences to the six rookies of the 2025 season, the most since 2001. Liam Lawson with Red Bull, Gabriel Bortoleto with Sauber, Oliver Bearman with Haas, Isack Hadjar with Racing Bulls, Jack Doohan with Alpine and 18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli with Mercedes joined F1 for their first full seasons. This episode perfectly captures the learning curve in F1.
Every rookie wants to perform, but not all of them will be able to right away. Only Antonelli seems to get a good edit in this episode, portraying his successful walk in the footsteps of former Mercedes driver and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, who joined Ferrari.
Some rookies get the boot early on in their seasons, as illustrated by episode two, “Strictly Business.” The episode opens on Alpine Executive Advisor and de facto Team Principal Flavio Briatore’s extravagant home. It puts into perspective what some may call his cut-throat and selfish nature. This becomes even clearer when he cuts Doohan from the team after two races, replacing him with another rookie, Franco Colapinto. Briatore first appeared on “Drive to Survive” in season seven, and continues to be an entertaining addition to both the paddock and the show.
Another exciting addition to “Drive to Survive” this season was 2016 F1 champion Nico Rosberg, who shed light on the potential challenges of a teammate title fight. He compares the situation at McLaren to his own at Mercedes in 2016 against Hamilton in episode three, “The Number 1 Problem.” Rosberg replaced fellow former champion Jenson Button as a pundit on the show.
Despite some of these more gripping aspects of the first few episodes of the show, many viewers were left unsatisfied. This is the shortest season of “Drive to Survive” so far, and several online users commented that it felt less intriguing than previous seasons.
“This season was a big disappointment,” user FE325 commented on a Reddit megathread. “Major events were left out.”
Some such events include on-track crashes and successes, and the exclusion of major coverage of three out of ten teams, like Aston Martin. One off-track event some viewers noticed the exclusion of was the departure of Adrian Newey from Red Bull for Aston Martin. Another off-track event that many users were shocked to see left out was the scandal involving former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner.
In 2024, Horner was accused of inappropriate behavior by a female employee, followed by leaked messages allegedly between the two that contained sexually suggestive content. Episode four, “A Bull With No Horns,” covers Horner’s dismissal from Red Bull, but mentions nothing about the accusations. Many people thought 4-time world champion and current Red Bull driver Max Verstappen had something to do with the dismissal.
“I don’t believe the Verstappens were responsible in any way,” Horner said in an interview during the episode.
Although the scandal was touched on in season 7, some viewers were left wondering if the scandal had something to do with his relief from the team, and why Netflix chose not to include it. Episode one also includes a clip of Horner getting loudly booed at the F1 75 launch, which is portrayed as being because of Red Bull’s dominance in the sport.
“Seriously @netflix,” user 15peppers commented on an Instagram post. “Nothing on Christian Horners Sext scandal? It was such a huge thing during the season not 1 second of mention? WTF?”
With the show leaving many seemingly important things out of this season, it also covers things that viewers of the sport may have already known. Episode five, “The Sky’s The Limit,” covers Carlos Sainz’s move to Williams, and the team’s struggles to get the car on par with other teams at the top of the midfield. This was not a surprise to devoted fans of the sport, but it may have been interesting to those who only watch “Drive to Survive.”
Episode six, “The Duel,” goes back over what was touched on in episode one. It touches on the performance gap between Hamilton and his replacement, Antonelli, and expands upon the fight between Ferrari and Mercedes. Some viewers criticized this episode for its lack of inclusion of Ferrari’s car problems during the season. The last two episodes, “What Happens In Vegas” and “Call Me Chucky,” show the thrilling three-way title fight between Verstappen, Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri that went all the way down to the last race. These last episodes give audiences a good look at new Red Bull Team Principal Laurent Mekies and the boisterous PR personality of McLaren Team Principal Zak Brown.
Though these episodes are not the most detailed, many viewers may find them inspiring. It is hard not to be moved by radio messages of any driver winning their first championship, and Norris is no exception in “Call Me Chucky.”
This season of “Drive to Survive” received plenty of negative reviews; however, fans of the show who appreciate Netflix’s dramatizations and edits still enjoyed the watch.
“I watch DTS every year and I enjoy it every year,” user SWITMCO commented on the Reddit megathread.
