Season 8 of Netflix’s “Drive to Survive” is set to premiere on Friday, but early reviews suggest that F1 fans will be disappointed. The series has seen significant success since debuting in 2019, despite receiving considerable backlash for “framing” stories inaccurately. The latest season, however, could likely disappoint hardcore fans, according to critics.
What did the early “Drive to Survive” reviews say?
Critics Slam Drive to Survive Season 8 for Missing Key Storylines
Since Season 1 of the famed Netflix show, there has been the notion that ‘Drive to Survive’ is just another ad campaign for F1. While the series drastically increased interest in the sport in the U.S., hardcore fans believe the “PR” aspect of the show comes at the cost of worthy storylines.
Early reviews of the show’s eighth season carry a similar sentiment.
“[Drive to Survive Season 8] will get its views and clicks on Netflix, but it is a show which is not what it once was,” one critic wrote. “It feels as if it has gone away from what made it so successful, the behind-the-scenes glimpse into the gorilla-war, back-stabbing Piranah Club.
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“Instead, Season 8 feels like a glorified advert for the positives in Formula 1, which, by and large, is what the show was only ever meant to be, but that’s not what made it successful… Overall rating out of 10: 4.”
There is dissatisfaction with how the show focuses more on the team bosses than on the drivers. In previous years, “Drive to Survive” primarily focused on former Red Bull team principal Christian Horner, whereas the latest season centers on McLaren CEO Zak Brown.
Storylines around McLaren as a whole were also reportedly misframed. The battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri was only covered until the British Grand Prix, leaving plenty to be desired, as the storyline was arguably the biggest one of the 2025 campaign.
📢 apparently in the new dts season, oscar’s decline is not covered at all, and the “papaya battle” is only covered up until SILVERSTONE, so all mentions of team orders are completely ignored (???) yay??? i think?? pic.twitter.com/rNU5XyOMZ9
— alex (@oscgoat) February 24, 2026
There is also a “glaring omission” of the Papaya rules debate, as the controversial situations from Hungary, Italy, and Singapore were all left out.
“Less clear is why [Drive to Survive] ducks the conspiracy theories at McLaren,” a critic wrote. “Even if they were fanciful, they became a major talking point last year, particularly after the team orders row at Monza, where Piastri was ordered to give way to Norris. Bizarrely, that incident does not even warrant a mention.”
By the look of things, fans will cringe at some significant omissions in Season 8. How the series’ latest installment is received remains to be seen.
