AUGUST 25, 2026
Netflix confirms Drive to Survive season nine
The behind-the-scenes Formula 1 series will return with a ninth season covering the 2026 championship.
© Red Bull
Netflix has confirmed that Formula 1: Drive to Survive will return for a ninth season, following the events of the 2026 championship.
The renewal is not surprising. Since its first season appeared in 2019, the programme has become an important part of Formula 1's international promotion and has introduced the sport to viewers who might not previously have regarded tyre degradation as suitable evening entertainment.
Season nine will again be produced by Box to Box Films. Executive producers James Gay-Rees and Paul Martin say the programme intends to go deeper than ever before
into the less visible areas of the sport.
Formula 1 teams may have their own definition of what remains hidden. The modern paddock is crowded with cameras, communications staff and people carefully explaining why an unfortunate weekend was actually rather encouraging. Finding genuine access among all that management remains the series' central challenge.
The 2026 championship should at least provide plentiful material. Mercedes began as the dominant force, but McLaren and Ferrari have closed the gap. Kimi Antonelli leads the championship, Lando Norris has gathered momentum and the competitive order continues to change as new developments reach the cars.
There have also been reliability problems, strategic disputes and the usual supply of driver politics. The producers will not lack possible storylines, although television has never been reluctant to improve a narrative if reality appears insufficiently dramatic.
Netflix has not announced a release date. Previous seasons have generally appeared before the start of the following championship, but no schedule should be treated as confirmed until the platform publishes one.
The cameras, meanwhile, are already collecting material. This is good news for Netflix and a reminder to everyone in the paddock to choose their words carefully.