Drive to Survive season 7 review: Norris in particular comes off badly this time

Drive to Survive season 7, like its predecessors, has seven episodes. Whereas the first seasons opted for one episode per team, recent years have increasingly opted for a theme per episode. Thus, the season starts with the episode 'Business as usual', which includes Lewis Hamilton' s transfer and the saga surrounding Christian Horner as main topics.

How does Drive to Survive deal with Horner?

Nothing is left out in the case surrounding Horner. Even the email possibly containing the Whatsapp conversations between Horner and the woman in question comes up, as do Jos Verstappen's statements that the Red Bull Racing team boss should leave.

Netflix provides a bonus in this story with statements from Zak Brown, Toto Wolff and Christian Horner. In the process, the first two repeatedly marvel at the fact that Horner is allowed to keep his job, while Horner does not hold back on 'prick' Brown either.

It turns out to be a prelude to the main theme of Drive to Survive season 7, which mainly focuses on the battle between McLaren and Red Bull Racing. Both between Brown and Horner, and between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

Episode two closes in more on the latter. In it, victories by Norris are made slightly bigger than they are, and his poor defence of pole positions is also skipped. After Max's wins, Norris also supposedly strikes back at Zandvoort. A race much later in the season.

Norris does not get off to a good start in Drive to Survive

The series does show once again that Lando Norris himself let the title slip between his fingers. The focus regularly turns to Lando's insecurity, doubting himself and glorifying Verstappen. Oscar Piastri, who was still beaten by Norris in 2024, is also showcased in the series as a driver with greater potential than Norris.

In the end, the entire battle between the two is well put away by Netflix, with Sao Paulo having been used to highlight Verstappen's class. The red flag, which allows Verstappen to change his tyres and remain in P2, even remains off-screen for the viewer. It will be a heroic episode, which includes much of the disbelief among Norris and his team that Verstappen was capable of doing this. Norris' anxiety and panicky reactions also show again that he simply could not withstand the pressure in '24.

Of course, there is also a focus on Lewis Hamilton's succession. That includes Max Verstappen, who was clearly Toto's first candidate. However, Wolff does not get Verstappen to make the move and switches his focus to one of his own talents.

In the episode, George Russell is shown as the new front-runner. A status he would have been given by Wolff after his win in Belgium. That the Briton was disqualified shortly afterwards was not mentioned.

Drive to Survive's unnecessary episodes

Episodes 4 and 5 feel like musts. The saga surrounding Carlos Sainz is very long, with only his absence from interview one with Williams being a notable detail. Episode 5 is if anything worse, with an entire episode dedicated to Charles Leclerc winning the Monaco Grand Prix, which also goes on to say that that parade on Sunday looked like an exciting race.

Episode 6 focuses on McLaren's debacle in Hungary, but not many new details come out. So a nice little insight for someone who did not follow the season. Episode 7 is a completely new format, following Alexander Albon, Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc and George Russell as friends with each other. A nice idea beforehand, but with the race in Singapore as the backdrop, there was little to enjoy for the five.

Drive to Survive S7 lacks some highlights

These episodes mostly feel like 'fillers' because a lot of things from the season are also missing. Oliver Bearman making his debut for Ferrari in Saudi Arabia, for instance, is missing. It is only when he steps in for Magnussen in Brazil that Bearman comes into the picture. The departure of Adrian Newey from Red Bull to Aston Martin, too, is completely omitted. And Franco Colapinto? South Americans hoping to watch DTS for their hero will be disappointed. Indeed, Colapinto is not mentioned anywhere. Nor is the departure of Sergio Perez included in the season.

Instead, there are four episodes that don't add much value, especially to viewers who already watched the season. Of course, certain episodes were thought of beforehand, but then they should be worth a whole episode. Some are not.

Besides, Geri Horner is on screen more than ever before, if not every episode. Wives, friends and relatives of other protagonists also appear on screen. Often as a substitute for the interviewer, just to have a different setting. After seven seasons, however, it sometimes feels a bit manufactured, James Vowles' wife suddenly asking who should be Williams' new driver when they are just shuffling around the garden table for breakfast.

Opting for episodes with a theme rather than going off each team also causes some teams in season seven to barely appear on screen. Whereas the first few seasons of Drive to Survive actually gave a unique behind-the-scenes look at the small teams, they get less and less attention in the latest seasons.

In season seven, there is a lot of focus on McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. Behind them, it diminishes. Haas and Alpine still have a supporting role in the season, but Williams and Stake only feature in the piece when it comes to Carlos Sainz's signature. VCARB also only had a supporting role around Daniel Ricciardo's farewell, while Aston Martin is not in the picture at all during the season.

Conclusion

Drive to Survive remains an entertaining way to relive the Formula 1 season. The main highlights return, where each story includes something that has not appeared before. In particular, Christian Horner, Zak Brown and Flavio Briatore utter statements that have never come out before.

The battle between McLaren and Red Bull Racing is particularly well portrayed by Netflix. The feud between Brown and Horner, as well as the rivalry between Norris and Verstappen, is well built up and, unlike previous years, not hugely exaggerated.

The big focus on that battle, however, means that season seven has little focus on the smaller teams, and missed some of the season's unique moments. In particular, the lack of the Adrian Newey news, the debut of Oliver Bearman and the absence of Franco Colapinto can be seen as a miss.

The latter is especially true as there are episodes that do not add value. Beforehand, the Singapore episode would have sounded fun, the execution, however, is a lot less special because the race was not up to standards. The same goes for Charles Leclerc's episode of the Monaco GP.

Those who were fans of the past Drive to Survive seasons can definitely be advised to give season seven a chance. Those who were bothered by made settings, oddly edited track footage and huge presence of Geri Horner in previous editions should skip this one entirely.