The start of the Formula 1 season is less than a month away. While the championship prepares itself for another year of Max Verstappen dominance, Netflix is nearly ready to premiere another season of its wildly popular docuseries “Drive to Survive.” The 48-season teaser trailer released today didn’t feature the Dutch world champion in a single frame and offered glimpses of the storylines that will likely be the focus of the show’s sixth season.
The trailer begins with narration from Nyck de Vries, immediately making a nod to the sport’s fans about the cutthroat nature of F1 for its competitors. De Vries didn’t survive the season and was dropped by Scuderia AlphaTauri ten races into the 22-race season. The seat at Red Bull’s secondary team was filled by docuseries standout Daniel Ricciardo. Many wondered what “Drive to Survive” would be like without the Australian star at the start of 2023, but production seemingly didn’t miss a beat. The teaser even included a clip of Riccardo climbing into a Red Bull for a test during his brief stint as the team’s third driver. Still, no Verstappen.
Lance Stroll and Aston Martin took up a few seconds in the teaser. The Canadian driver fractured both his wrists and broke a toe in a pre-season cycling accident. There were questions at the time if he would be physically able to race in the season opener, but Stroll raced and finished sixth against the odds. It would be surprising if Netflix docuseries didn’t heavily feature his recovery. Not to discount Fernando Alonso’s renaissance in his age-41 season as he racked up six podium finishes in his first eight races with Aston.
The turmoil at Alpine got a few moments on screen as team boss Otmar Szafnauer got ousted while teammates Estaban Ocon and Pierre Gasly dueled on track all season. There were a few more clues sparsed out among various clips. Fan favorite Guenther Steiner appeared in what is likely to be his final season on the show, as he was left to go from Haas after the season. Lewis Hamilton and Carlos Sainz are also seen but I’d be shocked if Hamilton’s recent move to Ferrari is covered at all.
The sixth season of “Drive to Survive” will be released on Netflix on February 23, just eight days before the 2024 season opener in Bahrain. It will be the perfect refresher on the intrigue that keeps fans glued to F1 when Max Verstappen can’t stop winning.