I watched all of Drive to Survive season eight early and I owe Max Verstappen an apology

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The eighth season of Formula 1 documentary Drive to Survive releases on Netflix on Friday. For all its success, the series has now run its course.

There’s no denying that Drive to Survive has played an enormous role in the growth of F1. It exploded during the coronavirus pandemic, bringing in millions of new fans before the sport’s resumption.

It’s no coincidence that other sports have tried to replicate the same formula to varying degrees of success.

But from F1’s perspective, the series has served its purpose. The audience is increasingly made up of pre-existing fans rather than prospective new viewers, with the sport now a mainstream product rather than a somewhat niche interest.

Netflix shouldn’t release another season of Drive to Survive

When the Netflix cameras first entered the Formula 1 paddock, drivers and teams had to learn how to behave. Some were extremely wary at first, with Mercedes and Ferrari notably skipping the first season.

But there was a genuine air of authenticity to the behind-the-scenes content that did feature. It was the kind of access that fans had never received before, and that novelty was exciting.

Within a few years, it became par for the course. Now, it’s gone beyond that. Teams have wised up and started manipulating the story themselves rather than allowing Netflix to do so.

It was only a matter of time before the marketing departments learned how to perfectly exploit the opportunity before them. Now, the ‘private’ conversations feel more staged and scripted than ever.

In fact, there are moments – one of which involves Carlos Sainz – when the drivers or their entourage notice that the cameras are rolling and stop their conversations. They have learned to check their surroundings for microphones, which means that genuine displays of emotion are few and far between.

There is also a perceptible lack of enthusiasm from drivers in their interviews, with the exception of the pot-stirring George Russell. They know how to feed the show’s storylines while still revealing very little new information. One suspects that there’s an agreement in the pit lane not to take Drive to Survive comments seriously.

When necessary, the teams can shut down storylines. McLaren simply didn’t invite cameras into their meetings with Oscar Piastri after their controversial team orders, one of the most glaring omissions from the new season.

Max Verstappen was right about Drive to Survive

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has never liked Drive to Survive. He even boycotted the fourth season, which documented his first title-winning campaign in 2021.

At the time, I was critical of the Dutchman for sitting it out. I felt he was doing his fans a disservice and unnecessarily harming the spectacle.

But now I see that Drive to Survive doesn’t offer genuine behind-the-scenes access. Increasingly, we only see what the teams want us to see, and that might be why the producers have to overdramatise at times – exactly what rankled Verstappen.

Filming for season nine has already started and the series will continue as long as people keep watching it. That’s the nature of the industry.

But barring a radical shake-up, it’s hard to see the value of further instalments. It’s been seven years since the first season premiered, and it has now reached the end of its natural lifespan.