Netflix Drive to Survive Season 3: Biggest Misses From the F1 Docuseries

Formula 1: Drive to Survive season 3 is upon us, and ahead of the start to a brand new F1 campaign, it is only fitting that the Netflix-produced series serves as a mouth-watering starter before the racing action kicks off. Like the two previous versions, Drive to Survive season 3 is filled with some amazing episodes and storylines.

But one can’t help but feel that there were a lot of crucial moments completely left out of the series.

Here, we try and look at some incredible moments from last year that were either left out of the series or only just got the briefest of mentions, when in hindsight a whole episode could be worth dedicating to some of them.

George Russell stepping in for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes F1

This was one of the most memorable moments of the season. Nobody saw it coming, but when Russell stepped in the cockpit of the Silver Arrows in place of a COVID-struck Hamilton, he looked like he belonged there.

Russell put in a near-flawless performance right throughout the weekend. But in dramatic fashion, just when a maiden race win was in sight, the German team performed a blunder-filled pitstop, with a punctured tire furthering George’s misery. Thus, what could have been a dream race ended in a meager ninth place finish.

This whole scene could have been straight out of a movie. However, it wasn’t really shown at all, only a few mentions were made.

Departure of Williams family from F1

Claire Williams ended her family’s association with the iconic F1 team in September of last year. It was an emotional moment with tributes pouring in from all over the globe. Williams were the only surviving family-owned F1 team that was a throwback to the bygone era.

Yet this storyline was completely missed in Drive to Survive, which is a pity. Sure, the team itself didn’t have a race to remember or any great moments last year, but a gesture to this incident would have been fitting; perhaps the thoughts of teams and drivers on the topic could have been shown.

Also Read: Why Did Claire Williams Leave F1?

Super-sub Nico Hulkenberg

Hulkenberg’s cameo appearances were the talk of the town as he filled in at Racing Point for both of their drivers during different times in the season. In fact, Nico became quite the meme and was the butt of jokes that linked him to replace nearly every driver who were in doubt for certain races.

He even performed quite admirably. Coming in cold, Nico came agonizingly close to a podium and even put his car in P3 during qualifying for the 70th Anniversary GP. Yet the German doesn’t appear at all in the series. The only screen time he gets is when he appears for a fleeting moment on a poster in the background.

We think these were three of the biggest moments missing from the third season of Drive to Survive.

Do you feel there were any other interesting plots that were left out? Let us know in the comments below.