Image Credit: Netflix
The engines are still roaring at Netflix. After the game went live on Netflix for the first time (at least in the United States), Formula 1: Drive to Survive is returning for a ninth season, as we’ve learned, capturing all the drama of the ongoing 2026 grid. However, it’s not all good news for motorsport fans, as all-female spin-off documentary F1: The Academy has been parked in the garage forever.
Despite heavy debate, it’s hard to overstate how massively Drive to Survive has impacted the global gaming landscape since its debut in 2019. The series is reported to have increased the popularity of Formula 1 in the United States and turned team principals such as Guenther Steiner and Christian Horner into reality TV superstars.
With Season 8 returning in late February (with the added complication that this season was shared with Apple TV+, which has the US rights to the live races), fans are naturally wondering if the cameras will be rolling to record the turbulent 2026 championship.
Signal came very early this year This work began quietly behind the scenes during the time of Will Buxton interviewed byThis shows that he was already signed up for the ninth season. This is in addition to Kim Illman (A). Famous photographers of F1 world and YouTube personality) reported that production teams were in attendance early on in pre-season testing. Further commentary by Oliver Bearman appears to be ending There is little doubt about the future of the show.
We’ve got further confirmation: We’ve now seen several people involved with the crew listing season 9 as “current” on their online profiles, having been working on a new season since the beginning of the year.
Multiple Netflix representatives declined to comment or respond to requests for comment on multiple occasions.
As always, you can expect Season 9 to arrive in exactly the same rhythm as all previous seasons: on the Friday of pre-season testing, just a week before the lights go up for the first race of the year.
F1 aims to bring 10 seasons of Drive to Survive to Netflix
talking about long term Future of the series on sports agentsFormula 1’s Chief Media Rights and Broadcasting Officer, Ian Holmes, acknowledged that the show has significantly exceeded initial lifetime expectations and revealed that they are actively charting a path towards a milestone tenth season. Holmes said, “I don’t think when we set out on this path, we had any expectation that we would be in eight series.” He further added that they are “looking at possibly going nine further, and it would be nice to get to the magical ten.”
When aggregating the available viewership launches for previous seasons you can see a slow decline in viewership:
To reach that decade figure, the production is mindful that the series must evolve to avoid audience fatigue. Holmes explained that the behind-the-scenes team is constantly looking for ways to give more agency to Grid’s stars in order to capture a more intimate, unpolished perspective. Holmes explained, “There are some things we’re discussing about how we can refresh things, change some of the approaches.” “In series seven with the Singapore Grand Prix, we had five drivers who were quite prepared for the period, and they filmed most of the material themselves.” This experimental, self-shot style is something they’re actively expanding on, with Holmes saying, “We tried to do something similar for the series that’s going to be in Las Vegas with the four team principles, something like that.”
Ultimately, the future of the series dictates that “the structure and narrative of Drive to Survive may evolve,” but it all depends on the streaming audience. “That’s the cruel thing about this business. You quickly find out if people don’t want to watch it anymore,” Holmes said of Netflix’s notoriously strict viewership metrics. Fortunately for fans in the F1 paddock, spectator retention remains incredibly strong. “But so far, you know, the numbers are holding up pretty well, really well, I mean, ridiculously well considering the numbers of the series.”
F1: Academy not expected to continue
While Drive to Survive continues its triumphant journey, the checkered flag may have already been waved for its sister series.
Produced by Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine, F1: Academy The F1 Academy was designed to highlight the all-female racing level, following aspiring drivers into teams. The documentary series debuted in May 2025, but things have been incredibly quiet since then, making it seem like there’s no season 2 on the horizon.
Despite the F1 Academy racing series receiving continued support from F1 teams and expanding its global broadcast reach, the Netflix counterpart may not have generated enough viewership to justify a second lap. In fact, throughout 2025, the series was watched for 6 million hours, garnering 1.4 million views. This is compared to the 89.4 million hours watched in Season 7, which equates to 12.3 million views.
While we’ve confirmed that some prep work has taken place for a second season (and some fans have reportedly seen film crews at an early run during the 2025 season), we have a lot of doubts about the future of the series. On the r/f1Academy subreddit, fans are pointing out the complete radio silence from both Netflix and Hello Sunshine regarding any future episodes.
We’ll update if we hear anything more, but we suspect the show has been quietly shut down. Netflix declined to comment.
Are you excited for Drive to Survive Season 9? Are you disappointed that F1:Academy won’t be returning? Let us know in the comments below!
