What is included in Netflix’s Drive to Survive season 5?

The Formula 1 car launches are nearly finished and pre-season testing is on the horizon. That can only mean one thing in modern day F1: the launch of a brand new season of Netflix’s Drive to Survive. GPblog received early access to the new season.  Here’s what will be included in season 5 of the highly praised documentary series. 

The second half of the 2022 Formula 1 season was dominated by Max Verstappen and Red Bull Racing. Whilst the battle at the top of the World Championship wasn’t anywhere near as dramatic as 2021, there were a myriad of storylines up and down the grid that kept us all gripped. 

Netflix have covered all of the top storylines, from the budget cap saga that troubled Red Bull Racing to Oscar Piastri’s contract debacle between McLaren and Alpine. The usual over dramatic scenes are portrayed, but there are interesting and unique insights that will entice the traditional Formula 1 fan. Perhaps more so than any other season in years gone by. 

The Netflix cameras 

Once again, Netflix have embedded their cameras and microphones everywhere. All conversations are picked up. F1 fans will be pleased to see that pedal cam and helmet cam all feature in the series. There’s also some new footage from Zhou’s crash at Silverstone.

The season starts with the bromance we didn’t know we needed between Gunther Steiner and Mattia Binotto. This kickstarts a real family feel theme that runs throughout the series and includes various home and holiday visits to showcase the F1 personnel away from the trackside pressures of the sport. 

This includes two features with Christian and Geri Horner. During one family camping holiday, we hear how Horner reacted to the Piastri saga as it played out over social media. Gunther Steiner is once again the star of the show. 

Zig Zag 

Netflix continue their now traditional back-and-forth zig-zag through the season. The 2022 British Grand Prix at Silverstone features as a key pivot in various storylines in the first half of the season. But it starts logically with the Bahrain Grand Prix. 

The Netflix cameras showcase how important that race win was for Ferrari. On the other side of the fence, Red Bull Racing recorded a double DNF. Through the F1 season it became easy to forget about that, but Drive to Survive reminds us of how concerned Red Bull were in Bahrain. Perhaps some concern and frustration that wasn’t shown or portrayed publicly at the time of the event. 

The traditional Formula 1 fan is often critical of the show, but their dreams of being a fly on the wall in a Team Principal meeting can now come true. Here, Toto Wolff fights for changes to be made relating to porpoising which turns into a heated discussion with Horner. There’s even a little snide comment of “let’s go porpoising” from another team boss when the meeting concludes. 

The series then shifts gears and gives a behind-the-scenes look at one of F1’s most discussed contract debates between Alpine, McLaren and Oscar Piastri. We also hear various contract options for Alpine and a hint at some negotiations. 

Towards the end, there’s an episode that zooms in on the Red Bull cost cap storyline. This adds much-needed heat and spice. It showcases how much stress and pressure the whole situation placed on Christian Horner and we get to hear how the team reacted initially. This is the episode most fans will be jumping to when season five of Drive to Survive launches on February 24, 2023.