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It's that time of year again, when F1 fans gather around their televisions and the iconic Netflix du-dum becomes akin to lights out signaling the start of yet another season of Drive to Survive.
The eighth season of the show will be available for streaming on February 27th, 2026, and is set to recap the 2025 racing year. While McLaren’s domination, Lando Norris’s first Drivers’ Championship and the mysteries of the Papaya Rules are undoubtedly going to take center stage, our team put together a list of five other iconic F1 2025 moments that we think will leave everyone from first-time watchers to DTS veterans on the edges of their seats.
Lewis Hamilton struggles at Ferrari
One of the most anticipated storylines of 2025 in F1 was Lewis Hamilton's arrival at Ferrari. One of the greatest drivers of all time joining one of the most celebrated and beloved teams in the sport's history seemed like a match made in heaven, and the season began with a glint of promise as Hamilton earned Ferrari their first podium during the first sprint of the year in Shanghai.
Yet this was quickly followed by a disqualification for excessive plank wear during the main race of that weekend, signalling the start of an uphill battle for the rest of the year. Audiences were quick to temper their worries early on–this was Hamilton's first time in a new team since 2013 and an adjustment period was to be expected–but the results just were not coming in. Ultimately, Hamilton’s debut in Ferrari went down as his worst year in F1, and took fans on a deeply emotional ride from the start to the end of the season.
“After so many years at Mercedes the transition was shocking and bound to be a big change,” said FanAmp Marketing and Community Engagement lead, Claudia Ovejero. “Everyone expected there would be a period of adapting but I don't think the audience expected the season to have been so challenging. Getting to see the behind the scenes of this will be fascinating and help shape how fans predict Hamilton’s 2026 season”
Carlos shines at Williams
While Hamilton may have been struggling at Ferrari, an interesting opposition was happening with Carlos Sainz, the driver who was let go in his favor, and Williams, the team Sainz ultimately chose to join.
For some time, Williams has been a bit of an underdog in the world of F1, fighting to regain their former glory but never quite putting all the pieces together in the right time or place. But with the arrival of Sainz, things seemed to be taking a turn for the better. Not only did they obtain their best Constructors result since 2017, they also made it to the podium. Twice. Both times at the hands of none other than Sainz himself.
“I think DTS will have a ton of stuff to cover with that,” said FanAmp Growth and Community Engagement Lead, Logan Fung. “There was so much conversation around Carlos joining the team after leaving Ferrari, everyone was saying that it was more of a downgrade, yet here we are. Carlos literally got more podiums this year than Lewis Hamilton, who took his spot.
“It's also always great to see an underdog performing well, and Williams is getting ready to reclaim their spot in the top four.”
Horner exits Red Bull
A moment that definitely turned heads, not just in F1 but from all over the sporting and entertainment world, was the sacking of former Red Bull Team Principal, Christian Horner. The move came mid-season, a time teams are usually looking to build on the foundation they’ve set up at the beginning of the year rather than overturning their entire leadership.
At the same time, however, Red Bull had been going through some quite unusual struggles. After losing out on the Constructors’ Championship in 2024, 2025 got off to a rough start, with underperforming, driver swaps, and even Max Verstappen sounding like he’d given up. And this, in combination with the allegations made against Horner for sending inappropriate messages to a female member of his staff, was all the team could take before pulling one of the biggest moves of the year.
“Red Bull is infamous for their revolving driver lineup,” said FanAmp CEO, Greg Kallman, “but when it came to the music stopping for both Christian Horner and Helmut Marko... that caught me off guard.
“I'm curious to see if Netflix cameras caught any moments from the paddock that telegraphed the outcome, and if they had eyes on the aftermath, like Christian's team speech.”
Max Verstappen resurges in the second half of the year
Without a doubt, the battle for the Driver’s Championship is going to be a central focus of the latest edition of Drive to Survive, and Max Verstappen’s shaky year will certainly be a big part of that. From mid-season sound bites of him questioning whether Red Bull will be able to amass any further wins to the sudden swing in performance following the summer break, Verstappen’s fight for his fifth title had all the makings of great television.
“I’m looking forward to seeing this story unfold on Drive to Survive because of the behind-the-scenes tension and championship pressure that made the comeback all that more dramatic,” said our newest writer, Avery Oomen.
“And knowing DTS loves a good flair for the dramatics, I’m curious whether Verstappen will be portrayed as the four-time champion who lost it all by two points, or as the driver with one of the greatest comebacks in recent F1 history.”
Rookies rise to the top
2025 will also be remembered in F1 as the year of the rookies, with one of the biggest newcomer classes since 2001, when seven new faces joined the field. Yet of the six drivers who started their first full season in F1 last year, two had absolute standout debuts.
Mercedes’s Kimi Antonelli and VCARB’s Isack Hadjar both earned podiums, bringing crowds to their feet in support of the young talents. Each one had his own trials and tribulations to contend with; Hadjar crashed his car on the formation lap of the Australian Grand Prix, and Antonelli slumped mid-season, causing many to question whether he truly was the prodigy that Toto Wolff believed him to be. Yet they were both able to step up when it counted and join the ranks of an elite few who podiumed in their first year of F1.
“There is a lot of pressure when it comes to being an F1 driver, especially in high profile organizations like Mercedes and Red Bull,” said our resident journalist, Misha Husic. “Drive to Survive has a chance to use their behind the scenes access and explore the human side of being a rookie. I’m sure they will show the struggles but I also hope that they show what it takes to overcome those challenges to rise to the podium, and celebrate the success of these young athletes.”
Images via Red Bull Content Pool.
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