(Motorsport-Total.com) – One week before the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season, the eighth season of the long-running hit “Drive to Survive” was released on Netflix – a season shortened to eight episodes that highlights the events of the 2025 season. As usual, it was produced by Box to Box Films.
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The success of Netflix’s first foray into the premier class is now well documented: with over ten million viewers in Season 7, the series left every other sports franchise far behind in the dust.
Meanwhile, reviews for the eighth season have been mixed. The show continues to divide opinion between hardcore fans and those newcomers whom Formula 1 and the producers want to lure into the sport. But as long as the series achieves the latter goal, the creators see no reason to change their approach.
New fans in focus
“You have to accept very early on that you can’t please everyone,” explains Tom Rogers, Post-Production Director at Box to Box.
“The reality is that the core fanbase will inevitably have some criticisms of the content. But we’re not really targeting the people who are already passionate Formula 1 fans anyway.”
“This was always intended as a kind of entry point for new fans. We want to turn casual viewers into enthusiastic fans and non-fans into casual viewers. And I think we’ve achieved that. As long as we keep this fresh look at the paddock, I think it will continue to be successful.”
Not a perfect show
“It’s unusual for Netflix shows to reach an eighth season. I think that speaks volumes about the popularity of the series, but also about the sport itself.”
The 2026 Formula 1 cars in their final designs on the racetrack
However, this does not mean that any criticism from expert fans – from editorial inconsistencies to quotes and images taken out of context for dramatization – is simply dismissed.
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“Is the show perfect? No,” Rogers admits. “Have we made mistakes in the past? Absolutely. Last year there was an incident with Max [Verstappen]. We had the wrong shot from the wrong cool-down room. That was a genuine oversight. As soon as it was brought to our attention, we corrected it.”
No conspiracies, just mistakes
“It then gets blown up into a huge story, but there’s no conspiracy behind it. We’re not trying to trick people. It’s human error, and we’re introducing more processes every year to minimize that.”
“We now have [markers] throughout our video material indicating which Grand Prix it’s from. If it’s from the wrong race, it’s immediately obvious during editing because it’s on the screen. It’s in our own interest to do as good a job as possible.”
The success of Apple’s Formula 1 film is seen as another lever to win new fans for the series in the important North American market. Since this potential for further growth exists, an end to Drive to Survive does not seem to be in sight for now – as long as Formula 1 delivers for Netflix and vice versa.
Growth continues
“We’re often asked, ‘Do you think the format has worn thin?’ But as much as we’ve grown in the US market, I would argue there’s still a long way to go there,” says Rogers. “It feels like Formula 1 is going from strength to strength. Hopefully, Drive to Survive will continue to accompany Formula 1 in that regard.”
“We’re not planning an end. Things naturally have a limited duration, but there’s nothing like that on the horizon at the moment. As long as it makes sense for Formula 1, for Netflix, and for the teams. As I said, we’ve only scratched the surface of the American market so far. There’s still enormous growth potential there.”
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