Formula 1 Drive to Survive: Season 4 episode-by-episode review

Drive to Survive has been a revelation for Formula 1 since first hitting our screens in 2019, bringing grand prix racing to the masses and fuelling a huge surge in interest.

On 11 March, Season 4 of the Netflix series will be released, featuring another 10 episodes following various storylines through the thrilling, dramatic and, at times, controversial 2021 campaign, going right the way from Bahrain to Abu Dhabi.

Autosport was afforded a sneak preview of Drive to Survive ahead of its public release, giving us the chance to put together this episode-by-episode review.

Please be warned that this review includes some spoilers for each episode of Season 4. If you would like to read a shorter, less spoiler-y review of Drive to Survive, check that out here.

The Hamilton vs Verstappen rivalry began from the very first race of the 2021 F1 season in Bahrain, the subject of DTS episode one

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

1. Clash of the Titans

The opening episode of the new series serves very much as a scene-setter, focusing entirely on the pre-season test and the opening round in Bahrain.

It serves very much as an introduction to new viewers, perhaps recognising the huge swell in viewers who jumped on at Season 3. It does well to explain the driver moves, the new rookies and new team names, but also goes back over basics such as qualifying and how it works, and the importance of race strategy. It’s a good refresher for newcomers, although established fans may find it a bit slow.

Horner’s claim that Wolff “inherited” the team at Mercedes and that he was more of a “finance guy” is met with nothing more than silence and a smile by the Mercedes F1 boss

A lot of the episode is dedicated to the rivalry between Red Bull and Mercedes. As is well-known, Max Verstappen opted against taking part in this season, claiming it was “fake”. This leaves a lot of the Red Bull side of the title fight being left to Christian Horner to explain - but it’s a role he takes on fully.

Jibes are thrown at Mercedes right from the off in the episode, foreshadowing just how sour things will get later in the campaign. The stark differences between Horner and Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff are evident from the off, but is shown no better than when Horner’s claim that Wolff “inherited” the team at Mercedes and that he was more of a “finance guy” is met with nothing more than silence and a smile by the Mercedes F1 boss.

PLUS: How diplomacy between F1's heavyweights died in 2021

The ins and outs of Verstappen and Hamilton’s late-race fight aren’t properly explored, but this may have been a bit much to the casual viewer. It’s summed up simply - you can’t overtake a car off-track, so Verstappen had to give the place back - and the episode ends with Horner lamenting the defeat. As a scene-setter goes for the episodes to follow, ‘Clash of the Titans’ ticks the box well.

Popular Drive to Survive star Daniel Ricciardo has his early struggles at McLaren feature in the series

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

2. Ace in the Hole

Daniel Ricciardo has been the stand-out driver in the first three series of Drive to Survive, with his move from Red Bull to Renault and subsequent switch to McLaren providing perfect fodder for storylines.

Episode two of the new season focuses on his arrival at McLaren and his early struggles with the team compared to the success of younger team-mate Lando Norris. It’s a story we all know well - and how it ends, of course - but it is the kind of drama that Drive to Survive thrives off.

Ricciardo is on sparkling form throughout the episode, showing his character and dropping some colourful language that will raise a laugh or two, even in some of his most difficult moments. Norris also comes across well, building on the growth we saw in Season 3 after barely featuring in the series covering his rookie campaign.

But much as there was in the McLaren-focused episode last season, featuring Norris and former team-mate Carlos Sainz Jr, drama seems to be created where it doesn’t fully exist. A comment by Norris about not having sympathy for Ricciardo, based on a headline without any other context, is spooled up for some tension in Monaco.

PLUS: The humbling changes Ricciardo made to deliver the goods for McLaren

There’s a smattering of Ferrari in this episode, featuring some banter between Sainz and Norris after the former’s move to Maranello. Charles Leclerc’s curiosity in Norris’s new contract is also an entertaining moment, although it feels like his qualifying crash and subsequent DNS after taking pole isn’t given the kind of time it deserved, even if it gets touched on in episode three.

‘Ace in the Hole’ is really about setting things up for later in the season when Ricciardo’s Monza victory completes his story. It does that well, but again seems to find a bit of drama that wasn’t totally there.

The Red Bull and Mercedes rivalry continues to simmer as the series progresses

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images

3. Tipping Point

Starting with Monaco, this episode moves the narrative of the Mercedes and Red Bull title battle along - and the rivalry between Christian Horner and Toto Wolff. More barbs are thrown by Horner throughout the episode, particularly during the Monaco weekend where Mercedes suffers a nightmare as Valtteri Bottas retires from second and Hamilton can only finish seventh.

There are moments of this episode which focus on the personalities and lives behind the team bosses fighting for the title. Geri Horner features heavily through the series, and her conversations with Christian in this episode work to move the narrative along. There’s also a nice moment with the Wolff family at breakfast ahead of the British Grand Prix.

It is Hamilton who really delivers the best and most impactful lines through his sit-down interviews, particularly when discussing his fears about catching COVID at the packed-out Silverstone

The lap one crash between Verstappen and Hamilton is the focus of this episode, but this does skew the pacing a bit. Verstappen’s puncture-induced crash in Baku isn’t even mentioned, while a scene of Hamilton talking to Wolff about his mistake in that race's late restart isn’t given the proper context or explanation it needs.

Silverstone is covered well, using the radio communications from Horner and Pete Bonnington to move the story along. But it is Hamilton who really delivers the best and most impactful lines through his sit-down interviews, particularly when discussing his fears about catching COVID at the packed-out Silverstone. It feels like the most we have seen from F1’s best-known star at any point in Drive to Survive.

The Mazepin family's relationship with the Haas F1 team is examined in detail

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

4. A Mountain to Climb

Gunther Steiner has been one of the breakout stars of Drive to Survive, meaning Season 4 would not have been complete without him and Haas getting the spotlight for an episode.

There are some good-humoured Steiner moments - including a photoshoot for garden furniture - but the focus is on the two rookies, Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, the latter’s early struggles and the influence his father’s investment had on the team.

PLUS: The long-term F1 vision causing Haas’s short-term pain

The episode is good at lifting the lid on the relationship between the Mazepins and Haas, and the efforts made by Steiner to try and placate Nikita. But it does leap forward quite randomly, going from Spain to Russia, where the redemption arc is formed by playing up Mazepin marking his home grand prix by beating Schumacher and Nicholas Latifi - who both retired - thanks to a tyre swap made while running last, which is also where he finished.

Given the recent news that Mazepin’s contract had been terminated along with the Uralkali sponsorship following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the context diehard fans will now know makes you view the episode a bit differently. We know how the story ends, but that doesn’t make this episode any less of an interesting watch.

Ricciardo gets his hero story arc with victory at Monza

Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images

5. Staying Alive

After being somewhat forced in the Haas episode, a much better redemption arc comes courtesy of Ricciardo and McLaren in episode five, covering his victory at Monza.

One of the biggest strengths of Drive to Survive this year is that episodes feel more cohesive - combining teams and drivers to move the story forward. This may look at Ricciardo’s win at Monza, but it covers the Ferrari/McLaren fight well against the context of Ferrari’s home race, intertwining all four drivers and the senior figures from both teams.

There is little in the way of proper behind-the-scenes insight or information that will give diehard fans anything they didn’t know (except that Brown plays ice hockey)

It is Ricciardo who really drives this episode though, telling the story of his win and how the race panned out. Drive to Survive has always thrived on personalities, and it feels like this is the peak of that through Season 4 - something also aided by Zak Brown, who bookends the episode playing ice hockey and getting a tattoo. The whole episode feels like a good contrast to much of the toxicity of the title fight.

PLUS: How Ferrari triumphed in the battle for F1 2021's best of the rest

That said, there is little in the way of proper behind-the-scenes insight or information that will give diehard fans anything they didn’t know (except that Brown plays ice hockey). It feels like a bit of a missed opportunity.

The Williams resurgence story provides continuity between previous seasons of Drive to Survive

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

6. A Point to Prove

Williams’ struggles have been a running theme through all three seasons of Drive to Survive, meaning that an episode dedicated to the team and its upswing last year does not seem at all out of place.

Newcomers to Drive to Survive are brought up to speed on the sale of the team and the changes taking place. Picking up on the success of personalities in the series, new boss Jost Capito comes across brilliantly, helping galvanise the team as it goes in search of points.

PLUS: The battle-hardened figurehead at the heart of Williams' F1 revival

The double points success in Hungary is a natural moment to focus on, but it does feel quite hit and miss in terms of recapping the season. Although George Russell’s near-miss for points at Imola is covered later in the season when discussing his future, it’s not given any mention at all in this episode.

Russell’s future is also something that is alluded to but not massively addressed in this episode. He is framed at one point as having “teams circling” to sign him - yet it was pretty clear where he would end up if he wasn’t at Williams in 2022. For new fans though, it is a way to portray his ability and how highly he was regarded through the grid.

This does feel like a good way to move the Williams story along through the wider arcs running through all four seasons of Drive to Survive, even if there’s no mention of the results in Spa or Sochi later in the year. But given Russell’s move to Mercedes gets an episode of its own later in the season, it may have been too much to cram in.

Tsunoda becomes the newest stars in Drive to Survive in his rookie F1 season

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

7. Growing Pains

If anyone is to become the most memed star after Drive to Survive Season 4, it will be Yuki Tsunoda. His big personality comes across in abundance and totally unfiltered throughout this episode, which is sure to give plenty of laughs to new and old F1 fans alike.

This episode focuses on Tsunoda and Esteban Ocon through the various ups and downs of life on the F1 grid, coming to a head at the Hungarian Grand Prix with Ocon’s shock victory for Alpine.

A full episode centred on the Japanese might have been hard to make happen - but boy would it have been a riot

It’s a pairing that is put against the context of Alpine and AlphaTauri being engaged in the close battle for fifth in the constructors’ championship (even if the races featured are before the summer break). But given Tsunoda is a rookie and very new to F1, while Ocon is in his fourth full season, it doesn’t quite fit together perfectly. Tsunoda’s story is perhaps more similar to that of Mazepin and his rookie season struggles, making this feel like an episode of two separate threads and timelines.

PLUS: The mixed fortunes of F1 2021's rookie crop

Just like the Williams episode, the focus on Ocon will give Drive to Survive fans good continuity, given his prevalence right from Season 1 when he was slipping through the cracks in the driver market. But it did feel like a lot of the changes at Alpine, such as the rebranding and the arrivals of Laurent Rossi and Fernando Alonso, were skimmed over and could have been explored more.

Tsunoda’s story doesn’t quite come full circle, but his early crashes and struggles with life in Milton Keynes are fairly depicted, again showing the human side of F1 in a way that Drive to Survive does so well. A full episode centred on the Japanese might have been hard to make happen - but boy would it have been a riot.

Bottas and Russell also feature in their rivalry to fight for a Mercedes race seat

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

8. Dances with Wolff

It seems strange to think that a few years ago, Mercedes had little interest in being part of Drive to Survive, yet now it is one of the most-featured teams. This episode focuses entirely on the decision to replace Valtteri Bottas with George Russell for 2022, one of last year’s most-followed stories.

There is a fair amount of creative licence in this episode, even from the outset when the idea of replacing Bottas with a younger talent leads to a montage featuring a number of drivers discussing their future (including, strangely, Stoffel Vandoorne). But thankfully it is quickly made clear quite that it’s a straight fight between Russell and Bottas for the seat.

Their crash at Imola is naturally a flashpoint ready-made for Drive to Survive, delivering uncensored radio and a few C-bombs. The filming and editing around all of this is superb, though, and is the series’ production at its very best.

It doesn’t feel like the full story is told for that though, either around the crash - covering Russell’s apology and bid to make peace with Bottas in the week after the incident - or how the moves later panned out.

PLUS: How Russell left Mercedes with little real choice over his F1 promotion

The episode ends with Russell being told by Toto Wolff he has the Mercedes seat, and Bottas admitting he doesn’t have a contract for next year, yet in reality, he was announced at Alfa Romeo before Russell was at Mercedes. The leaps from Imola to Silverstone to Spa also seem a bit disjointed.

How Drive to Survive portrays the controversial end to the 2021 F1 season remains under wraps

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Episodes 9 and 10

At the time of writing, the final two episodes of Season 4 have not yet been released to the media - but obviously, the title showdown in Abu Dhabi and the surrounding controversy is going to be heavily featured.

Snippets have already been shown at the end of various episodes, showing footage and incidents from both Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. There’s also a taste of further Horner criticism towards Wolff - “ah shut up, the guy has no fucking idea” - suggesting the episode will double down on the duality between the two team principals without input from their drivers, given Verstappen hasn’t featured and Hamilton didn’t speak to any media post-race.

Much of the frustration around what happened in the race surrounded its “made for TV” ending - to quote one driver - and it will be crucial for Drive to Survive to be faithful to what happened here

The handling of Abu Dhabi is really make-or-break for the success of Season 4 and its general perception by fans. Much of the frustration around what happened in the race surrounded its “made for TV” ending - to quote one driver - and it will be crucial for Drive to Survive to be faithful to what happened here.

It’s the first time in the series’ history that the final episode isn’t hyping up the fight for third or fourth in the constructors’ championship, which is a good thing. But it will need to hit the right balance to be accurate for existing fans while keeping the drama there for newcomers.

Given some felt the last lap of the 2021 F1 season was "made for TV" will it be reflected in Drive to Survive?

Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images