The next season of “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” is coming to Netflix Feb. 24, the streaming service confirmed Thursday via Twitter.
The series’ fifth season will focus on the 2022 F1 racing season, which saw the implementation of sweeping rules changes that brought new car designs and cost caps. These changes were aimed at closing the gap between the richest teams and the rest of the field to create closer, more unpredictable racing.
Formula 1: Drive To Survive returns February 24 — and here’s your first look at Season 5! pic.twitter.com/17R4SAGck6
— Netflix (@netflix) January 12, 2023
The outcome was fairly predictable, however. Despite early flashes of competitiveness from Ferrari, reigning champion Max Verstappen won a second driver’s championship, and Red Bull ended Mercedes-AMG’s streak by winning the teams’ title. Verstappen also scored a record 15 wins.
Red Bull was later found to be in violation of the new cost cap rules; the team was fined for its cost cap breach but allowed to retain the championship title. That could provide from drama for this season of “Drive to Survive,” along with a driver shuffle that saw McLaren and Alpine fighting to secure Oscar Piastri to fill seats being vacated by Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso, respectively.
Max Verstappen at the 2022 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix – Photo credit: Getty Images
F1 management confirmed in May 2022 that “Drive to Survive” would continue for fifth and sixth seasons. The show relies on close cooperation from F1 and the teams to allow a high level of behind-the-scenes access, but strong ratings for season four, which documented the close championship fight between Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, convinced F1 management to commit to two more seasons.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has said the Netflix series’ future isn’t guaranteed, saying in a 2022 interview that “Drive to Survive” must add value to F1 to continue. So a lot will ride on how this latest season is received by viewers.