The Five Craziest Moments From “Drive to Survive” Season 3

Netflix’s Formula 1 doco delivers with non-stop action.

Season 3 of Netflix's docuseries Formula 1: Drive to Survive arrived on 18 March, and it has certainly delivered on its behind-the-scenes promise as well as on-track action.

There is no boundary the cameras don’t cross, following teams and drivers in home and at work as they aim to win the Formula 1 World Championship. It’s glamorous, funny, and at times, freakin’ terrifying. Perfect for the Formula 1 fanatic, casual fan or even someone looking to get into a new sport.

After binge-watching the show over the weekend, we can confirm that S3 is a must-watch.

In fact, here are the five craziest moments from Drive to Survive Season 3.

1. Romain Grosjean's terrifying crash.

Haas F1 Team driver Romain Grosjean put the ‘survive’ in Drive to Survive this season with his horrific fireball crash at the Bahrain Grand prix. On the first lap, Grosjean clipped the Alpha Tauri of Danii Kvyat and torpedoed into the barrier. His car split in half and exploded into flames.

The Netflix docuseries does a great job of reliving the drama in Episode 9. They cut between the crash, the looks of disbelief on mechanics’ faces, and other drivers’ teams asking if he’s okay.

“Please tell me he’s okay,” Kvyat is seen saying after the crash.

Miraculously, Grosjean emerges from the fireball alive with only second degree burns to his hands. While the docuseries makes it feel like Grosjean was in the vehicle for 10 minutes, in reality, he was in the car for 28 seconds (still terrifying though).

2. Sergio Perez’s rise to victory.

From the ultra-terrifying to the super-exciting comes Segio Perez’s first Formula 1 win. He’s easily one of the most underrated drivers on the grid and finally got the win he deserved in the pink Racing Point at the Sakhir Grand Prix.

In Episode 4, Perez is told he doesn’t have a job with his team in 2021; Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel is taking his seat. Unfortunately for Perez, he still has to race for the team.

That heartbreak is overturned in Episode 9 when the Mexican wins his first race in Sakhir. Yes, he had some luck with Mercedes making a bizarre mistake to hand him the victory, but everyone needs some luck in their own fairytale.

The final moments of the episode end with Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner calling Perez and welcoming him to the team for 2021.

3. Valtteri Bottas being in the nude.

Nobody expected to see Valtteri Bottas naked in this docuseries when we turned Drive to Survive on, and yet here we are.

Episode 3 spends a lot of time following the Mercedes driver as he tries to beat his teammate, Lewis Hamilton, in the driver’s standings for the first time.

The docuseries takes us to Bottas’ lake house in Finland where he and his agent discuss their race strategy whilst stripping down and relaxing in a sauna.

Of course, it didn’t take long for Aussie larrikin and Renault F1 Driver Daniel Ricciardo to tweet about Bottas’ nude debut.

For Bottas’ sake, we hope that he does finally work out how to beat Hamilton, but it’s good to know he may have a future in underwear modelling too.

4. Absolutely everything about Lawrence Stroll.

Anytime Stroll is onscreen, whether it’s for an interview or just him going about his business, the dude totally looks like a James Bond character.

Stroll commanded attention from his first scene, casually stating their will be victories for his team.

“I’ve always won in the business I run, and I will win here,” he said in the doco.

Well, after watching him in Drive to Survive, we’ve got no doubt Stroll will take his team to the top of F1.

With the rebranding of his team to Aston Martin for 2021, and the driver pairing of Vettel and Lawrence’s son Lance Stroll, we’ll probably be seeing a lot more of them on the podium.

DTS be like: wooooo Lawrence Stroll super villain billionaire very scary

— Dione. (@formuladione) March 19, 2021

5. Coronavirus cancels season opener.

COVID-19 had a big impact on the global mega-sport of Formula 1.

The first race of the season was supposed to take place on 15 March 2020 in Melbourne. Except, the race was cancelled only hours before Friday practice was meant to start, leaving fans waiting angrily at the gates.

The reason behind the late cancellation is explored in Episode 1. In the days leading up to the race, team members started testing positive for coronavirus, causing press and drivers to pile pressure on F1 management to cancel the Grand Prix.

In a press conference the day before the cancellation, Mercedes driver Hamilton didn’t hold back when asked why the weekend is going ahead.

“Because cash is king,” he responded.

Netflix delves deep into the controversy, which begs the question: why didn’t F1 pull the plug sooner?

So, there you go, there’s the five craziest moments in Drive to Survive Season 3.

The new Formula 1 season kicks off in Bahrain on the 28 March. You can catch every race live on Fox Sports, Kayo Sports, or Network Ten.

All three seasons of Drive to Survive are streaming on Netflix.

Header Image: Pool / Pool via Getty Images.