Drive to Survive Season 8 is here but Lewis Hamilton absence is deafening

Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari, Bahrain, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

Drive to Survive

Drive to Survive Season 8 is here but Lewis Hamilton absence is deafening

The seven-time world champion was not a major figure in the new season

Originally written by Graham Shaw. This version is a translation.

Friday 27 February 2026 23:00

Season eight of Drive to Survive has landed (Friday, February 27) — and after watching all eight episodes, we’re left with one pressing question: where is Lewis Hamilton?

Heading into our binge of Netflix’s latest F1 installment, two storylines stood out as must-cover territory: Hamilton’s difficult first campaign with Ferrari and the shock dismissal of Christian Horner by Red Bull Racing.

To its credit, the series does dedicate significant time to Horner’s exit, even featuring him and wife Geri Halliwell reflecting on the saga from their Northamptonshire home. But when it comes to Hamilton’s turbulent Ferrari chapter, viewers may be left wanting far more insight.

But in terms of Hamilton’s Maranello misery, we were left looking under the pasta for the sauce…Sadly we could find none. You could almost have forgotten that Lewis went the entire year without a podium, finishing in sixth place some 267 points behind new champion Lando Norris.

Hamilton Ferrari misery, not so much

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We watched every minute of the eight episodes and we can confirm there are no sit-down interviews with the 41-year-old seven-time world champion. And no great insight into what happened/what went wrong at Ferrari in 2025.

The closest we come is Episode 6 (entitled ‘The Duel’) but even that is more of a take on the Mercedes vs Ferrari battle and the rivalry between team-mates. Hamilton’s own personal struggles get a very light touch only as part of that.

Even some insightful commentary from Italian insiders would have been significantly better than what we got. But instead it was just the occasional aside from Will Buxton stating that things were not going according to plan for the Scuderia.

It’s reality TV, not a documentary

While the disappointment felt real, maybe at this stage, eight seasons in, it is time to just accept that this is reality TV and not a documentary.

Drive to Survive really is a show for the casual fan and not the hardcore, and it has been a major reason for the huge growth of F1 in recent years.

Just to back that statement up, Liberty Media announced record revenues on Thursday - it can thank the DtS era in no small way for that.

We are not generally going to come away feeling we learned something massively new any more. Instead we get some really nice camera work, a little insight into some personalities, a ton of glamour and the odd funny or NSFW moment (thanks to George Russell for 2026) nugget.

It’s still fun, but as we said, expect more pasta than sauce…

Drive to Survive Season 8 is out now globally, and all eight episodes are available to watch free of charge if you are an existing Netflix subscriber.

Binge away!

F1 Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Drive to Survive