10 popcorn-worthy storylines we want from Drive To Survive Season 5

Drive To Survive

10 popcorn-worthy storylines we want from Drive To Survive Season 5

The new season is just hours away - here is what we want it to deliver

Jim Kimberley

Thursday 23 February 2023 23:11

It's a wonderful week to be a Formula One fan. Not only do we have cars on track with pre-season testing, but the fifth season of Netflix's hit series Drive to Survive drops on the streaming platform this Friday.

Drive to Survive thrilled fans when it revealed a never-before-seen side of the sport in its debut season in 2019. Fast forward to today, and the annual release schedule has become a pre-season fixture to look forward to.

However, it's fair to say that the show has become somewhat predictable, and the teams understandably have become more careful around Netflix's cameras.

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Nonetheless, there are always nuggets of gold in every season that add extra spice to the previous year's antics.

Season 5 is just hours away

Season 5 airs in just a few hours now, on Friday February 24. Here are the 10 things we are most looking forward to:

Cheerio, Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo became the de facto series protagonist from the very first episode. The producers cleverly knew the Aussie's outgoing and friendly nature would humanise F1 drivers for a new audience, plus Ricciardo's 2018 Red Bull departure proved a significant plot point in season one.

There's another break up to cover this year. Despite the honey badger's repeated denials about leaving McLaren, his protestations preceded the inevitable divorce. Finding out why Daniel was so confident he would wear papaya in 2023 when the writing was on the wall is hopefully a logical inclusion, especially given his transparency about exiting his last two teams.

With Christian Horner also a regular DtS feature, we may see just how soon the Red Bull return conversations started — and how tempted Ricciardo was to join a backmarker.

Vettel's Trail of Destruction

2022's silly season was one for the ages. The not-so-shocking Sebastian Vettel retirement before the summer break triggered a wild week of transfers.

Even for a political player as potent as Fernando Alonso is, I don't think the Spaniard's 'El Plan' included leaving Alpine in the lurch so suddenly. Yet Alonso's move to Aston Martin stunned the French outfit and sent shockwaves through the paddock.

Vettel's retirement was quite the trigger.

Oscar Piastri's subsequent dramatic "I will not be driving for Alpine" tweet fuelled some speculation about any clauses in the young Australian's contract. With Piastri managed by Alonso's old rival, Mark Webber, might we determine if the two 2010 title contenders made some hasty plots in Hungary to get Piastri to McLaren?

Mercedes' Dark Days

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell are a PR team's dream. Both men seldom step out of line in the public eye, and although disappointed with the W13, neither driver let their frustration boil over in any interviews.

The duo are humans, though, and we see how competitive they are when the pressure really rises. Russell's Emilia Romagna collision with Valtteri Bottas and subsequent helmet hit showed us the 25-year-old driver steps out of line when angry enough.

Even the usually squeaky-clean Hamilton dropped a couple of f**ks in episode four of Drive to Survive season two after that German GP. Might we see more foul language in a less-than-harmonious Mercedes garage on the show?

Counting the Cost

Rumours of Red Bull breaching the 2021 cost cap reportedly circulated the paddock for months last year. Yet the FIA made us wait until late October for confirmation that Red Bull had a guilty verdict on a 'major breach' of the rules.

The 'candid' shots of Christian Horner relaxing at his house and talking shop with his wife Geri Horner is a Drive to Survive staple. The Red Bull Team Principal is a master of spin, so it'll be fun to see how he describes the cost cap breach with some no-doubt thought-out lines on why his team weren't really in the wrong.

A Champion's Return

For such a pivotal role in Drive to Survive season four with the unforgettable title 2021 fight, eventual champion Max Verstappen was notably absent from giving his side of the story.

As confirmed in last week's trailer, the now-double world champion will return as a talking head for the fifth season. Hearing any new Verstappen thoughts on his maiden championship would be great, but getting more than just the standard interview format would be even better.

We've spent time in the Sainz house, Ferrari motorhome, and even inside a sauna with a very cheeky Bottas. Getting behind-the-scenes time with Verstappen (preferably fully clothed...) would make for must-see TV.

Nothing but the Truth

As much as we love Drive to Survive, the embellishment of the truth got a little too frustrating. We can understand the editor's need to make a cohesive story, but if they can do so without altering the reality of the broadcast team radio, we're sure all F1 fans would appreciate it.

With the sheer number of popcorn-worthy truthful stories to pick from 2022, we hope the show avoids some of the more egregious bits of fake news. Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris appearing as mortal enemies and Nikita Mazepin 'advancing' from P20 to P18 at his home Grand Prix (instead of simply not retiring) are two of the worst recent offences.

Like a Bunch of Winners

Guenther Steiner shot to stardom among the fanbase for his frank assessments of his Haas team's performances. Not to mention some hilariously quotable and meme-worthy expressions about not looking like rock stars and polite requests about closing doors.

Steiner's seemingly eternal strife and struggle that the show always depicts has a happy resolution this time. A last-minute Kevin Magnussen reunion after parting ways with Mazepin in pre-season eventually turns into pole-position joy.

It's not often in the show that Haas or Steiner enjoy success without a caveat. Seeing Guenther gloat about that Friday in Brazil is a long time coming. Let's hope it makes the cut.

Taking the Mick

Sticking with Haas, we've seen Steiner's steps to get Mick Schumacher into his garage in previous seasons. But, while getting joyous scenes of the team's maiden pole position sounds good, it's not Drive to Survive without a grumpy Guenther.

Mick Schumacher's season not trundling at the back of the pack didn't go as the German might've hoped. The Saudi Arabian Qualifying crash and Monaco's car-splitting trip surely must result in Steiner uttering some choice words from the pit wall. So will we see some new Guenther memes on Friday?

Plan Z

Jokes about Ferrari's questionable pit strategies have long circulated online. Yet their drivers' open criticism and second-guessing in 2022 uncovered some distrust between the track and the garage.

Of course, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz weren't faultless in their performances last year. However, seeing the decision-making that caused the Scuderia to throw away Leclerc's Monaco win and to box Sainz in France straight after his laps-long battle with Sergio Perez might answer some of the Tifosi's questions.

Electric Dreams

Oscar Piastri isn't the only non-F1 driver that could have a starring role in Season 5. Nyck de Vries enjoyed cameo FP1 sessions throughout the season before an unexpected call-up to Williams at the Italian Grand Prix.

We now know Williams ultimately dropped Nicholas Latifi in favour of Logan Sargeant, but did the 2020-21 Formula E champion expedite the decision? De Vries out-qualified the more experienced Latifi on debut before scoring points in only one attempt. By comparison, Latifi needed 18 races and a Suzuka storm to record his sole point-scoring finish last year.

Will we see how much the humbling experience of being outclassed by a rookie had on Jost Capito's decision not to retain the Canadian?

Not long to wait now, just a few short hours until that big release on Friday...get that popcorn ready.

Written by

Graham Shaw - Consultant Editor

Digital sports leader with 30 years of senior level experience running global brands. Built sportinglife.com to be a behemoth in the UK as well as being in charge of the Planet Sport network of sites including planetf1.com, football365.com, teamtalk.com and planetrugby.com. Then grew goal.com to be the world's biggest soccer website in 18 languages and 37 territories. Was GM of Portals for Perform Group (now DAZN) with overall responsibility for sportingnews.com, spox.de and voetbalzone.nl.

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