I’ll start this off with a disclaimer that Netflix‘s hit documentary, Formula 1: Drive to Survive, is my favourite sports documentary of all time. The series, which follows 20 drivers who race for the 2020 World Championship title across 17 Grand Prix around the world, gives viewers a chance to get an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the racing world within the paddock—and on the track.
After two successful seasons, Netflix has just announced that Season 3 of Drive to Survive is coming to the platform on the 19th of March 2021. The date was revealed in a teaser video, where you hear what sounds like McLaren team boss, Zak Brown, warning that “we have no idea what’s gonna happen”.
Tantalising though that may sound, we do indeed know what’s going to happen in Season 3. The 2020 season—as perhaps is inevitable—was dominated by Lewis Hamilton on his way to his seventh world title, while the constructor’s championship was (also) dominated by Mercedes AMG, who had Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas as their race drivers.
But Drive to Survive has always been released after the conclusion of each season, and the appeal of the series has always been about the stories behind the wins, losses, crashes, and adrenaline rush of going at 300km/h (or more, at times). The 2020 season is also one of the most interesting seasons of recent years (despite Lewis’ dominance), and I personally can’t wait to see Netflix’s dramatisation of Pierre Gasly’s maiden win at the Italian GP, or George Russell’s de-facto (and very dramatic) audition for the role of Hamilton’s right-wing man at the Sakhir GP.
If you haven’t watched the series yet, I’d personally advise you to catch up on Season 1 and 2 of Formula 1: Drive to Survive on Netflix now—whether you’re a motorsports fan or not. As someone who followed F1 growing up, before my interest severely tailed off in my adult years, Drive to Survive caught me up on the little nuances that make F1 one of the most watchable motorsports championships around.
And of course, if you’re a big fan of F1, Drive to Survive will—if Seasons 1 and 2 are anything to go by—offer viewers glimpses at never-before-seen footage of the remarkable stories behind the 10 teams, 20 race drivers, and 17 Grand Prix of Formula 1 2020.
