At this point, Drive to Survive is an anchor product for Netflix. The first five seasons of the Formula 1 docuseries are staples at the top of the brand’s charts, effectively making the world of European open-wheel racing one of the biggest properties the streaming service has without ever broadcasting a race. That window into F1 is opening up again with a new season covering 2023, and now we know the date: The sixth season of Drive to Survive premieres on February 23.
The accompanying trailer, released Monday, tells us almost nothing about the 2023 season. We know that Lewis Hamilton has some cool early-2000s sci-fi movie glasses, we know that drivers are stressed, and we know that at some point someone goes golfing. The biggest storyline of the 2023 season seen in any clip in the trailer is a brief glimpse of Otmar Szafnauer, the former Alpine team leader poached from Aston Martin after the 2021 season before being dropped in the middle of 2023. If Netflix cameras caught a large part of Szafnauer’s season, that moment could provide the biggest drama of the season.
Other than that, expect a relatively mundane year for Drive to Survive. The 2023 Formula 1 season was a runaway for Max Verstappen, who set stellar records as the starring driver in a nearly unbeatable Red Bull. With no championship drama to speak of and just one win from any other team over the course of the year, 2023 was not F1’s best. At least there was a golf tournament.