Formula One: Drive To Survive Season 5 - First Look Deep Dive into the Trailer

Netflix announced today that season five of Drive to Survive will be released on 24th February. Along with the date reveal, they shared a sneak peek video to give us a snippet of what to expect from the season.

The short video reminds F1 fans that the regulations were completely changed going into the 2022 season with F1 journalist Will Buxton adding that it's a "new dawn" for the sport. With 2021 being one of the most controversial years of the sport, a regulation change seems like a handy way to wipe the slate clean. But as we'll likely see in the coming program, fans have long memories.

It's certainly an exciting time to be an F1 fan, and this short trailer from the Netflix team has got us screaming for the 2023 season ahead of us.

Some of the regulation changes utilised for the 2022 season included frozen power units, tightening of the restrictions around aerodynamics and their testing, and a lower cost cap.

"The drivers will love it because they're fighters like in the colosseum," says F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

A major talking point for viewers will be the return of current F1 champion and Red Bull driver Max Verstappen. We see him sit in front of the camera as the crew enquire as to how it feels to be back, to which he simply responds, "alright".

Verstappen had previously boycotted the 'Drive to Survive' team for the way they portrayed him in the series prior. However, he recently confirmed that he and the team behind the docuseries had been able to reach an agreement for him to return in god faith. He said:

“I understand they want to bring more fans to F1 – and it works. But a lot of scenes are literally copied and pasted, even with sentences, things that have been said and that I know were not said at the time wanted by the editors.

"So it’s good to have found solutions, to see what we expect from each other. And I think the interview I gave them was good. I just wanted to keep it real. You know, no fake stuff. No overhyped things. Because I’m not like that. I just want it to be consistent, to be my opinion and how I see the things that we will see in the upcoming DTS season.

"I know it’s important for Formula 1 that the champion participates. So we reached an agreement and I’m very happy about that.”

Obviously, these new regulations will take up plenty of episode time with several teams struggling to understand the concept of porpoising for the first half of the season. Mercedes will be the story tellers here, with Toto Wolff struggling to produce a car that Lewis Hamilton and George Russell bond with.

Ferrari's strategy issues, or rather, lack thereof entirely, will also be up for debate, and it will be interesting to see what happened behind the closed doors of the Maranello squad.

The tension is building from just a 20 second clip of last year's season. And while we know full well how it unravelled, we're looking forward to seeing the behind the scenes to some of the year's most dramatic moments.

"It's a step into the unknown," Buxton tells the camera. With the way Netflix sometimes tells its stories, it certainly is. Thanks, Will.