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There was a time when Formula 1: Drive to Survive felt like the gateway drug to losing your weekends to watching the Grand Prix. Now it’s something else entirely. Season 8 drops on Netflix on 27 February, landing right before the 2026 season kicks off, and it arrives with a problem most sports docos would kill for. The real thing has become just as dramatic.
This season covers the 2025 campaign, headlined by a genuine three-way scrap for the Drivers’ Championship between Lando Norris, Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. Norris eventually clinched his first world title by two points in Abu Dhabi, the kind of margin that makes every strategy gamble and radio message feel personal in hindsight. Piastri surged early. Verstappen clawed his way back. It never really settled.
If you’re Australian, the Piastri arc alone makes this season compulsory viewing. We’ve watched him grow from promising junior to genuine title threat. Seeing how that pressure looked behind closed doors, inside a McLaren garage balancing two championship-level drivers under the same orange roof, is the kind of access the show still does better than anyone.
Beyond the title fight, there are driver moves, rookies thrown in the deep end and the usual management tension that only looks calm from the outside. Produced by Box to Box Films, the formula hasn’t changed. The edit still leans into rivalries. Radio calls still land harder with hindsight. Team principals still look like they haven’t slept in weeks.
The difference now is context. Long-time fans know how it ends. New fans are already watching live on Sunday nights. Drive to Survive isn’t building the audience from scratch anymore. It’s shaping how we remember a season we already argued about in real time.
Season 8 hits Netflix on 27 February, a week before the Australian Grand Prix opens the 2026 campaign. If you need a reminder of how wild last year actually was, this is your pre-season warm-up. Modern F1 doesn’t need scriptwriters. It just needs more cameras.
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