Drive to Survive Season 7 review: The best from Netflix yet but with one problem

After the annihilation of the other 19 drivers and nine teams from Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2023, the producers of Drive to Survive did remarkably well to produce a decent season, but if the raw material is lacking, you will find it hard to create a TV show. 

So imagine the delight of Netflix when the curtain finally fell on the 2024 season, with more juicy storylines in it that some did not even make the final cut of the 10 episodes that make up season 7.

One such is Adrian Newey's departure from Red Bull, with the now Aston Martin managing technical partner only briefly seen sitting next to the omnipresent Christian Horner on the pit wall. 

But such were the rich pickings of the on-track - and in some cases off it - drama, it is understandable why Newey's exit did not feature. After all, what is going to get people watching, Horner trying to handle the fallout from the allegations against him in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia early last season, or him talking about a technical guy who is jumping ship?

Episode 1 starts with a bang as Lewis Hamilton's defection to Ferrari is covered, as is the fallout of the allegations against Horner, which he has always denied, including one scene after the FIA press conference in Bahrain where he calls McLaren's Zak Brown "a prick".

It is not animosity per se, but the 'rivalry' between Horner and Brown is a trend throughout the season, with the battle for the world championships often played out between these two.

Max Verstappen is only seen briefly whilst Lando Norris tries to reassure himself in almost every sit-down interview scene he conducts that he does, in fact, have what it takes to challenge the Dutchman. 

The narrative story arcs are remarkably strong, with nine of the 10 teams being central to at least one episode, or in the case of a few teams, being sandwiched together to create an episode such as in 'Carlos Signs' when Williams and Stake are covered before Flavio Briatore emerges from the shadows with his Alpine team. 

The talking heads of Will Buxton, Claire Williams and a new addition in the form of an F1 world champion - but to keep the surprise, we will not spoil his identity - do a strong job of explaining from a driver, team boss and journalist perspective what is going on, and unlike in previous seasons, do not point out the blindingly obvious. 

Drive to Survive Season 7 review

Whilst the stories themselves are strong, Netflix has fallen into an old trap with how it uses the in-race footage, one that now, seven years in, should not be happening. 

The most egregious example comes in the episode focused on Norris and Verstappen, centred on the Miami GP. 

Norris in the lead after the safety car restart is built up correctly. After the race goes green, it is made out that Verstappen was right up the McLaren's gearbox when, in fact, Norris quickly dropped him and pulled away to win by 7.612s. A nice tool to tell the story, maybe, but if you're then showing Norris winning with Verstappen nowhere in sight, it is a bit off.

Footage of Verstappen 'giving chase' also features him weaving on the back straight, either behind the safety car or on the formation lap. With the quantity of footage captured and available to Netflix, it should do better.

Elsewhere, two incidents in the season were also slightly twisted - George Russell at the British GP and Esteban Ocon in Las Vegas.

Russell's episode is one of the strongest of the season, but it is made out that his retirement from the Silverstone race was a result of him falling back in the rain, with only a cursory mention of the water leak that led to his retirement.

Your writer missed this at the time and had to rewind to see if there had been any mention - Russell's disqualification from the win in Belgium was also completely overlooked despite being a key block of the episode.

As for Ocon, the deterioration of his relationship with Flavio Briatore makes for interesting viewing, but it is made out in Las Vegas that he pitted himself with the team not ready when, in fact, Alpine took responsibility for the error. It is suggested it is a further reason why Ocon is given the boot for the last race in Abu Dhabi. 

By far the strongest episode of the season is 'Le Curse of Leclerc', which, arguably, might be seen as the best episode in Drive to Survive. There is no 'Netflixification' about it. It is just pure, honest, and raw.

Overall, Drive to Survive season 7 is a big leap forward for the show, and in the grand scheme of things, only someone like your writer will notice the slight liberties taken. The audience for Drive to Survive either won't care or won't notice. 

RacingNews365 rating out of 10: 8

Drive to Survive Season 7 is released globally on Netflix on Friday, March 7.