Love it or loathe it, Formula 1 Drive to Survive is here to stay. Often derided as over-dramatising the sport, or inventing narratives and rivalries which don't exist, the series can nonetheless be credited in a major way with F1's recent boom in popularity - particularly in the USA.
Ex-F1 driver David Coulthard said recently that the Netflix documentary series makes the drivers seem more interesting than they are, but the 2022 season has already provided us with plenty of drama, even before the Drive to Survive season based on the year's racing has been released.
With just a month to go until the latest edition to the series drops on Netflix, we've taken a look back over 2022 and picked out five storylines we hope are given their own episode in the newest season of Drive to Survive.
Formula 1 Drive to Survive: Five storylines we can't wait for in S5
The Oscar Piastri saga
The saga that was made for reality TV the second it dropped.
After a merry-go-round of seat changes led to Fernando Alonso's shock move to Aston Martin, Alonso's former team of Alpine hurriedly announced Oscar Piastri as their driver for 2022. That was until, mere hours later...
I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 2, 2022
In contention for the biggest bombshell post ever shared by an athlete, Piastri's tweet took sporting Twitter by storm, and led to a flurry of speculation as to why a 20-year-old could possibly have turned down a guaranteed move to Formula 1.
It quickly became apparent that McLaren had taken advantage of a deadline-related loophole in Alpine's contract with Piastri to snatch the Aussie's services, after firing their own Australian star Daniel Ricciardo.
The McLaren fallout with Ricciardo. The Alonso machinations to work his way out of Alpine. Piastri's astonishing denial on Twitter. The ultimate courthouse resolution. This is absolutely made for Drive to Survive - we wouldn't be surprised if it took up two episodes.
Haas' scarcely believable Brazil pole position
Ever the Drive to Survive fan favourite, Gunther Steiner had much to cheer about in 2022, after an improved performance across the year.
After Russian driver Nikita Mazepin was dropped weeks before the season started, Kevin Magnussen made an unexpected return to the team, taking a sensational P5 on his first race back in Bahrain - Haas' second best ever result, after a 2022 in which they failed to score a single point.
That would not be the highlight of their year, however.
K-Mag full of emotion on the radio 😍#BrazilGP @KevinMagnussen pic.twitter.com/ACuKRXuc9F
— Formula 1 (@F1) November 11, 2022
F1's November visit to Sao Paulo saw tricky wet conditions define qualifying and the man who dealt best with the conditions was Magnussen, taking an inaugural pole position for the team in one of F1's greatest ever shocks.
Having focused so much on the team's struggles in recent years, it would be fantastic to see Drive to Survive focus in on Haas' greatest ever success.
Sebastian Vettel's retirement
The bombshell announcement that ultimately led to the bombshell Oscar Piastri announcement.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel unexpectedly announced his retirement ahead of July's Hungarian Grand Prix, with the 35-year-old having struggled through his first year with the underperforming Aston Martin team.
READ HERE: What Budapest Taught Us About Sebastian Vettel's Complex F1 Legacy
The following months saw tribute paid to Vettel from all sides, as the German rediscovered the form which made him one of F1's greatest of all time earlier in his career. His late-season form even seemed to lead him to question his retirement decision, and this author is not fully convinced we have seen Vettel in a Formula 1 car for the last time.
His farewell in Abu Dhabi was an emotional affair, and we expect plenty of Drive to Survive season five to focus on Vettel's retirement.
Lewis Hamilton v George Russell at Mercedes
After the bitter disappointment of Abu Dhabi 2021, Lewis Hamilton had another battle to contend with in 2022. For just the fourth time in his career, and for the first time since 2016, Hamilton was beaten by his teammate over the course of a season.
Highly regarded Mercedes newcomer George Russell took the fight to Hamilton in 2022, taking the team's only pole position of the year in Hungary, and the team's only win of the season from the front row in Brazil. He would ultimately finish 35 points ahead of Hamilton in the championship.
Though Hamilton's pace over the second half of the season was consistently better than Russell's, it was certainly the closest team mate battle at Mercedes since that 2016 title fight with Nico Rosberg, and leaves a lot of question marks heading into 2023.
Very tidy, Lewis 👏
Hamilton makes a neat pass on his team mate Russell 👌#HungarianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/YuuLRbNfic— Formula 1 (@F1) July 31, 2022
Tensions only simmered at Mercedes over the course of the year - you feel it will take a title fight for things to properly boil over - but we still expect Drive to Survive to zone in on Lewis Hamilton's toughest team mate battle in years.
Red Bull's cost cap controversy
Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez led Red Bull to the 2022 Constructors' Championship (Photo: Shutterstock)
The biggest controversy of 2022, and one which saw Red Bull handed severe penalties ahead of the 2023 season.
Found guilty of breaching Formula 1's newly-introduced cost cap, Red Bull were given a heavy fine, and a reduction in wind tunnel time ahead of the 2023 season, with animosity between the Bulls and rival teams such as Ferrari and Mercedes at high levels throughout the second half of the season.
This will surely be one of the biggest storylines of season five of Drive to Survive, especially with Max Verstappen returning to the fray for the new season, after sitting out season four. The producers will also likely look at the end-of-season tensions at the team, which saw Verstappen ignore team orders at the penultimate race in Brazil.
Formula 1 Drive to Survive season five releases on Netflix on Friday February 24.
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