Adrian Newey leaving Red Bull
One of the biggest news stories of the 2024 season involved longtime Red Bull design guru, Adrian Newey, defecting to Aston Martin. His surprise departure sent shock waves through the paddock, especially considering it came shortly after Christian Horner’s highly-publicised scandal, and questions over whether he would remain at the team.
Newey was instrumental in the success of Red Bull, particularly during the team’s recent period of dominance with Max Verstappen. There are still several question marks lingering as to why he left the Milton Keynes-based outfit, and what enticed him to join Lawrence Stroll. Of course, there’s the hefty compensation package (worth about $30m per year), but fans are still wondering whether Aston Martin have what it takes to compete at the top end of the grid. Perhaps it’s a storyline for season eight.
George Russell’s disqualification at Spa
An entire episode of the show’s focuses on George Russell’s future at Mercedes as the leader of the team. The throughline of the episode comes to a crescendo when he pulls off an audacious one-stop strategy in Spa-Francorchamps, which is framed as the performance that convinced Toto Wolff he’s up to the task of replacing Lewis Hamilton (an unenviable job, that’s for sure).
However, Russell was disqualified shortly after the race when stewards declared his car 1.5kg underweight. The Briton was the first race winner to be disqualified from a grand prix since Michael Schumacher’s 1994 victory at the same circuit and although the disappointing result wasn’t due to his performance, it was a surprising exclusion given the win was ultimately awarded to Russell's team-mate, Hamilton.
Doohan and Schumacher shootout test
Last year's driver market carousel could have easily been the basis for an entire series in its own right, but Netflix chose to focus its central storyline on Carlos Sainz. And understandably so: a driver who loses his Ferrari seat to Lewis Hamilton and spends six months choosing a new team makes for a compelling narrative. But it feels like they could have squeezed a little more out of all the chaos.
When Sainz finally knocked on the door that Netflix's storyline placed James Vowles behind, Alpine didn't immediately commit to signing Jack Doohan. Instead, they put him up against Mick Schumacher in a test. As much as the team officially denied it was a shootout, in reality it was. However, very little made its way into the press about how it actually played out, as no media were present at the test.
But Netflix was. And what an episode it could have been: for Schumacher - who was named after Jack's father, legendary rider Mick Doohan - it was potentially his last chance to return to F1. But it seems as if his childhood friend had the upper hand. The paddock was full of rumours about the outcome of the test, and the fact that Alpine ultimately chose the Australian speaks for itself. But we never got to see how it all happened - all because the Netflix producers decided it wasn't exciting enough to make the cut.
Ollie Bearman’s debut
One of the most surprising omissions from the seventh season of Drive to Survive was Ollie Bearman’s points-scoring debut for Ferrari. At just 18 years old, the Brit jumped into Carlos Sainz’s car at one of the most notoriously tough tracks on the calendar in Jeddah. He received a call at the eleventh hour during the second race weekend of the season, and was only 0.036s from knocking Lewis Hamilton out of qualifying.
Team principal Fred Vasseur revealed that Bearman was still learning the steering wheel functions the night before the race, and he went on to finish a remarkable seventh. However, Drive to Survive doesn’t even mention the career-making performance that secured Bearman’s seat on the 2025 grid.
Rather, he’s only mentioned in an episode focused on the midfield battle between Haas and Alpine. When Bearman stepped in for Kevin Magnussen in Brazil last season, his performance in the wet conditions were a far cry from his stellar drive in the Middle East earlier in the year. He’s even seen getting a telling-off from his future boss, Haas team principal, Ayao Komatsu.
How close were Bottas and Vowles to a reunion?
Another driver whose fight to stay in F1 could have made for a great storyline is Valtteri Bottas. The 10-time grand prix winner ultimately lost that battle, but he knocked on a lot of doors. It is understood that he even signed a contract with Sauber to stay for at least one more season, but he never got to see that piece of paper signed by the team management - and that probably says a lot about how ruthless this world can be.
Earlier in 2024, he reportedly came very close to signing with Williams before James Vowles realised that Carlos Sainz might actually become available - despite Mercedes and Red Bull still having open seats. And there was at least one big reason why Bottas' return to Williams would have been gold for F1: imagine the social media buzz over another round of "Valtteri, it's James"...
At one point, Bottas was actually facing questions from the media about what this reunion could mean for him - so sure were people that it was happening. And judging by his answers, he was indeed close to sealing the deal. A driver with experience and speed facing the harsh reality of being left with nothing seemed like a perfect fit for the title Netflix chose for its series. But...
Audi management reshuffle
Perhaps Audi's thorny road to F1 will eventually make it into a Drive to Survive episode (though it's doubtful the German manufacturer's marketing department would be too keen). But 2024 has already provided plenty of material for an intriguing plot.
On-track struggles, pitstop equipment issues, drivers' mistakes - all unfolding against the backdrop of an internal power struggle between Andreas Seidl and Oliver Hoffmann over who would steer the ship. In the end, both were ousted, paving the way for Mattia Binotto's return to the paddock. The very image of the Italian packing his bags and leaving his vineyard villa behind to rejoin the Piranha Club felt like a moment worthy of inclusion.
Yet none of this made it into the seventh season of Drive to Survive. Perhaps the producers are saving it for next time?
No goodbyes for Sargeant, Magnussen, and others
In previous seasons, Drive to Survive often leaned on stories of drivers crumbling under the pressure, desperately trying - but ultimately failing - to prove their worth. But this time around, there may have been too many of them for the producers to bother with.
Logan Sargeant often looked like the most dejected man in the world in 2024. The story of his car being given to Alex Albon in Australia alone could have been an episode in itself. Even James Vowles admitted that it would be difficult for the American to regain his confidence after such a blow. Some of Sargeant's media sessions turned into near-interrogations, and at times he seemed to be barely holding himself together. However, the final cut of the series only included his numerous crashes - offering no sentimentality about a dream slipping away.
Kevin Magnussen fought just as hard - at times, perhaps too hard - to prove his worth to Haas. But in the end, he too had to accept that his time in F1 was up. And Zhou Guanyu? Stuck in an uncompetitive car, all but ignored by the team management preoccupied with internal squabbles, and left with virtually no options elsewhere...
Franco who?
A casual F1 fan who only tunes into Drive to Survive once a year would be forgiven for not knowing the name Franco Colapinto. The 21-year-old Argentinian, who became the talk of the paddock when he replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams in the middle of 2024, didn’t get any screen time on Netflix.
The pandemonium surrounding the rookie felt impossible to ignore last season, which might make this the most glaring omission on the list. Perhaps producers opted not to mention the South American star because he failed to secure a seat for 2025, however conversation about his future at Alpine (he’s currently the team’s reserve driver) remains rampant online and in the media. It’s clear that the fandom surrounding Colapinto isn’t dying down, and should he end up in a seat mid-season, viewers will likely learn more about him in the show’s eighth instalment.
And where is Lewis Hamilton?
Hamilton has never been the star of Drive to Survive. In fact, the likes of Daniel Ricciardo and Guenther Steiner became the series’ breakout stars because Mercedes and Ferrari were reluctant to appear in the first season. However, Hamilton’s presence - or lack thereof - was particularly noticeable this time around.
The show makes a point to address his shock move to Ferrari at the top of episode one, but there’s little mention of him again. Not even his victory at Silverstone - which broke a 31-month winless streak for the seven time world champion - gets much airtime.
