REVIEW: ‘Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7’ Has Cemented Its Formula

Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7 is a sports documentary created for Netflix. The executive producers are Jacob Gay-Rees and Paul Martin, with Maia Liddell as showrunner. The coverage of the world’s fastest and most glamorous sport is back, showing the latest season and some of the most important shockwaves among the team and the drivers.

The fly on the wall documentary returns for a hectic and pivotal season. The racing is much more competitive this year than last year’s Red Bull dominance, and so many teams were facing the end of the line-up cycles. Lewis Hamilton, the sport’s most decorated and high profile star, revealed that this season would be his last at Mercedes, transferring to Ferrari. It’s the most dramatic change in a long time, shocking the racing world. That creates a shake up for Ferrari’s team, and the ripple effect travels around the whole sport.

So many teams are in flux, which shakes up the energy within Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7. Additionally, the pre-season was filled with a political shake-up that threatened to tear the biggest team apart. Red Bull Team principal Christian Horner was at the heart of a bullying and harassment investigation. The approach by the show into that situation is commendable and dramatic. It’s honest, fair, and hard-hitting and does not simply stick to scripted or PR answers. With all that going on, the first episode has a whirlwind of suspense and buzz.

The format of the later episodes mostly remains the same, with some slight changes that address one of the documentary’s major issues. Each episode after the first centres around a team driver, focusing on a plot point that emerges through that racing season. It hones in on insecurities or friction that may have formed. And with so many futures at stake in this season, there are plenty of opportunities to utilize.

To tell these stories, the narrative structure is not linear in Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7.

The show bounces between races, picking and choosing the ones that highlight the story they are trying to use. The season has a general progression, but it’s a loose structure. There aren’t episode numbers, which removes an expectation of chronological order. Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7, like other seasons before it, is much easier to view when considered as 10 mini documentaries, as opposed to a consecutive narrative running through them.

This show is terrific at making characters out of the figures within Formula 1. Many of those involved have been present from the start, so it is easy to get attached and feel a connection to them. Team bosses Christian Horner and Toto Wolff have been mainstay figures at the top. They have the power, so they are often shown with a villainous, authoritarian angle. Horner even jokes about how he is framed as a villain. There has also been a core of drivers that have grown alongside the release of the show.

Alex Albon, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, George Russell and Pierre Gasly have been the youngsters at the core of the show. They have grown up together, coming in as rookies and becoming massive sports stars, winning races and going for titles. Longstanding viewers have witnessed them transform into men and fierce competitors who have to balance rivalry with friendship.

That five get the chance to do something interesting, breaking the standard format of the series for one episode, “In The Heat of the Night”. The drivers film themselves on their phones as they prepare for the Singapore Grand Prix, the most physically challenging race on the calendar. This brings the documentary closer, showing them with their partners or in more private moments. It also gives the drivers agency, letting them tell the story instead of having the producers do it.

Other drivers remain aloof within the documentary and can affect how the audience perceives them.

Max Verstappen is the current world champion and is shown as a target in Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7. His dominance is there to be dethroned. Verstappen is shown as ruthless, intense, and aggressive. He’s a similar age to the five aforementioned racers, but his success has elevated him to a new level. The friendship between Verstappen and Norris is a key factor in the season, showing it fracture as they go head-to-head for the title.

Likewise, Hamilton isn’t interviewed much at all. This shows him as an outsider from the main pack, a quiet but effective winner. His stardom and prestige give him an aura, while younger drivers are more approachable and relatable.

Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7’s strength is when the subjects forget they are there. After seven seasons, the team principals know how to spin things and work the angles to make themselves look better. Horner is a master at it, able to be diplomatic and yet cutting when needed to bring his rivals down to size.

The quiet moments when the team principals are at home relaxing or doing some kind of activity can be cringeworthy, carrying traits of David Brent and Alan Partridge. It’s painful to see. But it’s interesting when you hear what people say under their breath after a conversation or as they’re in a private moment. It is a constant reminder that the show isn’t there to be friends with those it films.

The editing and production of Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7 is always fascinating and well-done.

The racing looks spectacular in Formula 1 Drive To Survive Season 7. The camera angles and cuts highlight the intensity of the sport, ramping up the pressure. The producers find shots that sometimes weren’t even on the broadcast cameras for the race itself. This is motor racing at its pinnacle, and it is phenomenally exhilarating. When watching this show, the comments made by subjects always raise suspicions.

Verstappen refused to film with Drive to Survive for a long time because he had issues with how they edited and manipulated context. So, it remained clear that the show should be taken with a pinch of salt. Conflicts may not be as intense and world-ending as they seem in the show. But even with that knowledge, it doesn’t damage the season’s enjoyment.

Formula 1 Drive to Survive Season 7 has found a groove that still works. The documentary makers know how to whip up a storm and find drama. Because it is there, this sport, filled with politics, money, adrenaline and backstabbing, must have drama.

It makes for easy viewing, with storylines that heighten tensions and make every decision seem huge. But it’s also important to recognise that Drive to Survive controls the narrative around certain personnel for certain viewers. Depending on how they are edited, people can be idolized or demonized, and reality can be distorted.

Formula 1: Drive to Survive Season 7 is streaming now on Netflix.