Netflix has released the first trailer and poster for Drive to Survive Season 8. As expected, much of the season will be dedicated to the three-way Drivers' Championship battle between Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri, and Max Verstappen.
The series will also delve into the controversy surrounding "Papaya Rules," and the impact they ultimately had on the outcome of the Championship (which was decided in Abu Dhabi, when Norris won the title by a mere 2 points).
"Offering unprecedented access, this new season will once again take fans behind the scenes, to witness first-hand how the drivers and teams prepare to battle it out for the 2025 FIA Formula 1 World Championship," reads the official synopsis.
"The series will offer never-before-seen footage as we follow new team lineups, management takedowns, fierce friendships and bitter rivalries of another high-octane season on the Formula 1 circuit," it continues. "Formula 1: Drive to Survive is executive-produced by Academy-Award winner James Gay-Rees (Amy, Senna) and Paul Martin (Diego Maradona) for Box to Box Films."
While Drive to Survive does tend to overdramatise (and, on occasion, outright manipulate) events, the show's success has played a big role in Formula 1's increased popularity in recent years.
There are always interesting interviews and insights into what happens in the garages, and occasionally the personal lives of those who line up on the grid 24 weekends per year.
Shortly after Season 7 was released, F1 fans noticed that a clip of Verstappen's reaction to Norris' win in Miami was used to alter his reaction to losing out to the British driver at his home race in Zandvoort, which took place three months later.
Asked for his thoughts on that last year, the Dutchman replied, "I’m not surprised. I didn’t watch it. You see it pop up on X, quickly ignore it so it doesn’t come up again. [I don't] block, because then people find out. If you ignore it, no one knows."
Verstappen has frequently been critical of the show and has refused to do any extended interviews with producers. That avoids his words being similarly altered to build drama, and as he explained in 2021, "I am not really a dramatic show kind of person, I just want facts and real things to happen."
Drive to Survive Season 8 premieres on Netflix on February 27.