Offering behind-the-scenes entry to one of many world’s most restricted championships has finished wonders for F1’s booming recognition and expanded demographic, so the docuseries made by Field to Field Movies has caught to its weapons for season six, half of which we’ve had early entry to.
As soon as once more all 10 episodes are every constructed round one of many major narrative strands from the 2023 season. With Max Verstappen’s Crimson Bull profitable all however one race, the makers have needed to search their thrills elsewhere and lean heavier on the off-track drama.
And possibly that is simply as effectively, as a result of Drive to Survive stays considerably jarring on the subject of on-track storytelling. It lapses into an previous vice of overlaying out of context soundbites and pit wall reactions onto motion footage, which had appeared much less prevalent in season 5.
Making it sound like race engineers get into their driver’s ear on the frantic run right down to Flip 1 at the beginning is slightly nonsensical, however it’s the place die-hard F1 followers simply must take a deep breath and keep in mind who this present is geared toward before everything.
As an alternative, the place DTS actually shines for seasoned motorsports devotees – which you presumably are if you’re studying this – is displaying us recent fly-on-the-wall footage, and season six is not any completely different.
Ousted Haas staff boss Guenther Steiner stays a star of the present in DTS season six
Picture by: Netflix
The third episode revolving round McLaren notably stands out with some scrumptious snark, with Crimson Bull’s Christian Horner wanting to twist the knife as Zak Brown’s staff misfires, including insult to damage by overtly courting Lando Norris.
We get a neat little nugget when McLaren’s blue-chip sponsors worriedly ask Brown what’s going on, adopted by a well-crafted section of the staff’s mid-season resurgence as Norris takes second at residence at Silverstone. Whereas Brown does all of the heavy lifting on digicam there’s curiously barely a point out of Andrea Stella, the staff boss who turned the ship round, however maybe each prefer it higher that method.
DTS has by no means shied away from fan service and it continues that pattern in season six. Unlikely Netflix star Guenther Steiner is again to his charismatic self as Haas’ struggles are effectively documented. Watching younger, feminine F1 followers fawn over assembly the foul-mouthed Italian at his e book signing feels each surreal and meta. Drive to Survive has gone full circle, basking within the man’s recognition it single-handedly created.
Given Steiner has since been changed at Haas, it might have been his final hurrah on the present. However Netflix was handed a lift by its different fan favorite, Daniel Ricciardo, having fun with a 12 months worthy of a Hollywood script.
He first will get an episode alongside struggling Nyck de Vries, and Field to Field Movies deserves big credit score for being on the scene on the Australian’s Silverstone take a look at that satisfied Crimson Bull to offer him a second probability at AlphaTauri within the Dutchman’s stead. A collection of occasions and conferences that we get entry to in truncated type, together with Ricciardo’s first response to the information he is again within the recreation.
Daniel Ricciardo’s return to F1 is a serious storyline of DTS season six
Picture by: Netflix
Ricciardo later returns for a second episode round his wrist fracture in Zandvoort, which brings Liam Lawson within the body as his non permanent substitute.
Whereas juggernauts Ferrari and McLaren additionally play an enormous half within the second half of the collection, which we’ve not had entry to but, the award for greatest drama goes to Alpine’s implosion. The long-time rivalry between Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly is the main target of the fifth episode, however its title Civil Conflict would have been way more apt for the occasions across the departure of Laurent Rossi and Otmar Szafnauer, which spills right into a second (but unseen) Alpine-dominated episode.
Netflix has largely caught to its tried and examined formulation, so in case you weren’t a fan earlier than, this season will not change your opinion. However in case you’re simply right here for the behind-the-scenes popcorn fodder and may look previous the odd embellishment, then benefit from the journey.
All 10 episodes of Drive to Survive season six can be found on Netflix from Friday 23 February.
