In hindsight, the first indication that something was slightly amiss was the Netflix episode list. Why has season eight of Formula 1: Drive to Survive – the show which has launched the sport, the streaming site and the art of the behind-the-scenes docuseries into the British public mainstream – been reduced from ten episodes to eight?

Officially, the line Netflix gave The Independent was that “the narrative creatively lent itself to eight episodes.” And you may well say, nothing to see here. Moot point, move on. Grab the popcorn and binge away.

Yet having watched the full collection, ahead of its release on Friday, there is no doubt that this latest instalment, chronicling a 2025 campaign which included Lando Norris’s highest high and Lewis Hamilton’s lowest low, lacked a certain cutting edge. Whether it be a memorable soundbite, an unleashing of paddock rage or a meme-able social media clip, DtoS typically shares a myriad of such moments to an eager audience. This season, however, falls flat.

Of course, for petrolheads and casual fans alike, there are still intriguing glances into the circus. The brutal axing of Jack Doohan at Alpine and his culling in Miami, amid Flavio Briatore’s old-school power-trip, was hard-hitting content. A strong focus on likeable Mercedes teenager Kimi Antonelli and his rookie season frailties were a reminder of the sport’s cut-throat nature. Hamilton and Max Verstappen discussing the imminent birth of the Dutchman’s daughter at The O2 season launch – “You have to watch it come out!” … “I’m not sure, maybe from the other side!” – was particularly amusing.

However, on the whole, this season lacked its key double-billing: genuine fly-on-the-wall access and enthralling personal interviews.

It was notable, for instance, that Verstappen has seemingly started his second boycott of Drive to Survive, once again opting against being interviewed by the show’s Box to Box producers. The hard-nosed Red Bull driver has spoken out previously about the manipulation of scenes, not least last year with the merging of post-race footage from Miami and Zandvoort. Hamilton, as well, in the midst of his worst-ever F1 campaign on his Ferrari bow, does not once take his place in the infamous interviewee chair.

The sport’s two biggest stars opting against participation? It’s hardly a glowing endorsement. For both, behind-the-scenes nuggets were limited to zoomed-in camera lenses and a boom mic: Verstappen in Red Bull’s hospitality unit, talking to VIPs ahead of the Abu Dhabi season finale, and Hamilton speaking to children at an event for his Mission 44 charity.

The depiction of Christian Horner’s downfall at Red Bull last summer – a story which started with the captivating first episode of season seven – was also lacking in genuine insight. Sure, we have Horner talking through his reaction with wife Geri Halliwell at his Oxfordshire home. The sacked team principal also reveals a touching text message from arch-rival Toto Wolff, in the aftermath of his dismissal.

But from Horner’s final furlong at Silverstone? Nada. Even his penultimate race in Austria did not provide any earth-shattering footage. The chorus of boos Horner received at the 2025 season launch event in London were lasered in on and set up the narrative arc appropriately. “You have to be the pantomime villain,” he says to Red Bull’s commander-in-chief Oliver Mintzlaff.

For a team desperate to rehabilitate their happy as Larry image, the writing was very much on the wall. Yet in-season, there are no revealing paddock conversations between Red Bull’s kingmakers to note.

But Horner’s sorry departure is another instance of the show simply losing its best characters. In the space of three years, we’ve lost Drive to Survive’s chief antagonists and f-bomb merchants in Horner, Guenther Steiner and Daniel Ricciardo. In a new era of team bosses resembling engineering boffins as opposed to mafia men, Netflix will need to carve out different caricatures for its future audience.

And, in many ways, the showis now a victim of its own success. In finding and engaging new fans, who now watch races and are well-aware of the stories and the nuances before they hit the screen, Drive to Survive is a paradox of its own popularity. From this point on, how do you keep the show fresh and invigorating?

Nico Rosberg’s brief addition as a pundit is a solid call. Though as punchy as ever, it does feel somewhat odd that Will Buxton is still front-and-centre, given his job now as lead commentator for... IndyCar. However, most pivotally, the stagnancy of the episode formula, whether it be a frontrunner or midfield team, is now clear as day. A handful of episodes even started with the same sight: a driver or a team principal on a helicopter, overlooking that day’s field of play.

For fans of Norris, keen for eye-opening insight into his title triumph, there is a lack of end-of-show punch, with the exception of a few expletives from Zak Brown. Altogether, it was far too stale and predictable.

There will almost certainly be another season, however. The 2026 campaign on-track, with new teams, new cars and new dreams, promises to be an unpredictable belter, even with an added layer of complexity which, somehow, producers will have to convey in the simplest of terms. Nonetheless, the show is still very much a net-positive for both F1 and Netflix, generating profits and numbers. They have also started a similar series for F1 Academy, the sport’s all-female competition for young drivers.

Yet on this year’s offering, a new approach will be required to keep viewers coming back and to attract even more fans, particularly in the US. Otherwise, for the first time since this behemoth of sports entertainment debuted in 2019, they may just run out of road.

Journalist and broadcaster Tom Clarkson believes the level of innovation Ferrari were showing during pre-season testing suggests that a ‘culture of fear’ within the team has now disappeared.

The Monegasque driver was over eight-tenths faster than the next best time set by Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli, with his Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton more than a second further back.

There’s only so much you can take from headline lap times in pre-season, but one thing Fred Vasseur will have liked seeing is how willing his team seemed to push new ideas compared to others up and down the grid.

The real eye-catcher was the Ferrari’s new rear wing, which first appeared on Hamilton’s car on day two, grabbing plenty of attention for its bold design. It quickly earned a nickname too, with social media fans calling it the ‘Macarena’ wing due to its distinctive shape.

Fred Vasseur has removed the ‘culture of fear’ from Ferrari

Tom Clarkson, speaking to Jolyon Palmer about Ferrari on the F1 Nation Podcast, said: “I love the innovations that we saw on the Ferrari as well. Whether it’s the rotating rear wing, whether it’s the aero vein by the exhaust.

“This is Loic Serra’s first car as technical director, and for a team that is such a pressure cooker environment, to be introducing these innovations suggests that it’s a very healthy, happy environment there.

“Otherwise, if there was a culture of fear and getting something wrong, you wouldn’t be doing that.

“So I think Fred Vasseur [the] team principal has obviously done a brilliant job in encouraging people to do what they do and not be afraid to come up with new stuff.”

Palmer responded: “I felt like everyone in the paddock was kind of playing down this rear wing, but I mean it was flipped upside down on the main straight! I’ve never seen anything like it in my life!

“When you look at it surely it is reducing drag. You’re getting a bigger hole through the air by flipping the wing upside down and I believe that aspect will give them an advantage.

“But then you have to wonder what are the costs of that? Number one weight might be a factor when you need maybe reinforce certain parts and add weight to reinforce parts and add weight to rear wing and other thing is how quickly does it shut?

“I really hope that they run it for one race at least at the start of the year and we can see because for me would go down as one of great innovations.”

Hamilton’s race engineer absence still a challenge for Ferrari

Ferrari have looked promising in pre-season before, but turning that into sustained success has often been a different story.

The Scuderia haven’t lifted a championship trophy since 2008, and despite high hopes in recent years, the results have rarely matched the optimism.

Leclerc seems to be adapting well to the new regulations. With the 28-year-old calling this season a “now or never” moment for himself and Ferrari, Vasseur will be hoping he can deliver more consistently than last year.

But Hamilton is rarely an easy competitor to outpace. Vasseur knows from his Mercedes days that when Hamilton is dialled in, few can match him over a season.

Hamilton’s situation isn’t helped by not having a permanent race engineer yet. Riccardo Adami has moved to another role within Ferrari, and no replacement has been confirmed ahead of the new campaign.

The communication between driver and engineer is expected to be crucial this year because of how strategies will shift with battery deployment and energy recovery systems coming into play under the updated rules.

This missing link could prove costly early on for Hamilton as he heads into Melbourne without that critical partnership fully established.

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Ferrari’s new rear wing could end up being a real difference-maker for them in the 2026 F1 season, if everything falls into place.

The car stood out at times during testing, posting some of the best top speeds we saw in Bahrain.

Even though the power unit was still behind Mercedes, Ferrari made up ground thanks to some serious straight-line speed. And that edge came from a clever tweak to their rear wing design.

The new wing can be flipped around 180 degrees, cutting down drag when needed and giving them an extra boost on the straights.

If Ferrari can get this system working just right, it could give them a real advantage over the rest of the field this year.

They finished fifth in last year’s constructors’ standings but have come out swinging with a strong pre-season showing. Whether that carries over into race weekends remains to be seen, but early signs are certainly positive.

Will Buxton thinks rotating rear wing could be a major Ferrari advantage

Speaking on the SPEED Podcast, Will Buxton touched on Ferrari’s new rear wing design, which made its debut during testing, and how it fits into the updated regulations.

Buxton noted that due to its distinctiveness, other teams may find it hard to copy. If it works as intended, it could give Ferrari a significant advantage this year.

“Day one, they’ve got this extra winglet… Which is exhaust-blown. Very, very smart. It’s well within the regulations. The little winglet is another thing,” Buxton said.

“It gives them a little bit of extra downforce through the corners. That’s great, but it’ll give them drag down the straights. Day 2, they turn up with this wing… What Ferrari have done is not just open the wing but flipping it. The second test, it flips 180. You’re not just reducing drag; you’re creating lift.

“That secondary wing by the exhaust is then creating a little bit of downforce just to balance it out because you don’t want to lift the rear tyres off the ground.

“It’s so smart. It’s very, very difficult to replicate now for all of the other teams. If Ferrari have found something, that could be the silver bullet. With a new set of regulations; one team is going to find something.”

Why the New F1 Regulations May Suit Lewis Hamilton’s Driving Style

Buxton went on to say that the changes in regulations, along with Ferrari’s rear wing innovation, have led to a car setup that should play right into Hamilton’s strengths.

“The way these cars drive. Much looser at the rear. We’ve seen cars four-wheel drifting in testing. That’s a car that Lewis Hamilton loves.”

Even with the speed advantage offered by their new rear wing, Ferrari have decided not to start the season with it. Instead, they plan to reintroduce it later in the campaign.

The team isn’t worried about any rule violations regarding their 180-degree design. Still, they’re choosing a more conservative approach by beginning the year with a modified DRS flap.

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Damson Idris has stepped into the spotlight again, fronting a new campaign tied to the upcoming Formula 1 season. As anticipation builds ahead of the sport’s return, the actor appears alongside the full driver grid in a newly released trailer. The video points to significant changes on track.

Watch F1’s Damson Idris hype up real Formula 1 in new trailer

To mark the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season, which begins in Melbourne, Australia, on 6 March, Formula 1 has launched its “All To Drive For” campaign.

The campaign features Damson Idris alongside all 22 drivers on the current grid.

New cars. New power. New teams.

F1 is back and it's all to drive for ?#F1pic.twitter.com/7xgsxiKLTy

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 22, 2026

In the 60-second trailer, Idris asks, “You think you know Formula 1?” before adding, “Think again.” Reigning Drivers’ World Champion Lando Norris states, “Everything is changing,” as Oscar Piastri, Nico Hulkenberg, Gabriel Bortoleto, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso, Lance Stroll, George Russell, Kimi Antonelli, Oliver Bearman, Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, Arvid Lindblad, Alex Albon, Carlos Sainz, Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Isack Hadjar appear.

Formula 1 produced the trailer in one 60-second format, one 30-second format, and four 15-second versions. The sport launched the digitally led campaign across its platforms and will screen it with broadcasters and through paid social. It is also running out-of-home posters stating “New Cars, New Power, New Teams, New Passion, All To Drive For” across London, New York, Los Angeles, and Melbourne.

Emily Prazer, Chief Commercial Officer of Formula 1, said: “The 2026 season welcomes Formula 1’s next generation of racing, with new cars, new engines, and a whole new style of driving. It’s the biggest shake up our sport has ever seen with the playing field levelled as each team battles to produce the best car and performance. The campaign invites fans both old and new to get involved at a time where every lap is unpredictable, and it’s all to drive for.”

Idris previously starred in the award-winning F1 The Movie. The 2026 season opens in Melbourne on 6 March.

Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.net.

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