Another season of the Formula 1 season has been capably rendered through Netflix's juggernaut sports documentary Drive to Survive. Given that Red Bull took home the W for every race but one during the 2023 calendar, it's a wonder that they found enough intrigue and gossip to pad out ten episodes.
Yet with instalments dramatically titled 'Fall from Grace', 'Civil War' and 'Under Pressure', the Netflix sports show manages to stoke the melodrama by focusing on the machinations of all the teams on the grid below Red Bull.
However, given that the Netflix cameras are only with each team for a slice of the season, there's always going to be certain events they miss and others they curiously decide to gloss over. So what was left out of the latest batch of episodes covering the 2023 season?
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What does Drive to Survive season 6 leave out?
The sixth season concludes on something of a low point, with fan favourite Guenther Steiner out as Team Principal of Haas, following a diabolical season in which the US team finish plumb last in the Constructors' Championship.
During the season we see him visit former Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto while on gardening leave at his sumptuous Italian vineyard. Steiner quizzes him on life after the highly-pressured sport.
A final caption tells us his contract "was not renewed for 2024". Steiner totted up an impressive ten years in the job and gained cult F1 fan status, in part thanks to a liberal approach to swearing on the Netflix show. We see his book published in season six, which became a bestseller.
The team's owner Gene Haas made the decision based on the poor on-track performance in 2023. Steiner was replaced by Ayao Komatsu – who we have often seen sitting next to him on the pit wall during races. Haas technical director Simone Resta has also left in the wake of Steiner's departure.
The BBC reported at the time that the team's main sponsor MoneyGram was not happy with the decision, given that Steiner has become such a popular figure in the sport and was a publicity driver to a team that would have been largely ignored otherwise.
We'll have to see how big a part Haas plays during season seven without Steiner's dynamite personality at the helm.
Elsewhere on the grid, Drive to Survive delves into the contract negotiations between Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff over in the Mercedes garage.
The Netflix show dedicates a whole episode to the question of whether Hamilton will indeed stay driving for the Silver Arrows. While the final few minutes indicate he signs once again to stay with the team, we now know he is set to swap the black race suit for a Ferrari red one.
These rumours are touched on in the 'Leap of Faith' episode, as journalists question Hamilton on whether he plans on making a move to Ferrari.
We see Wolff and Hamilton have a very frank chat about the negotiations and the team's future. "This is precious years for me. I don't know," Hamilton tells him. Hamilton then signs a new contract with Mercedes until 2025.
"The thought of Lewis at Ferrari in a red overall – it wouldn't suit him," Wolff tells the Netflix cameras, smiling. "There never feels like a time when I'm not going to be a Mercedes driver. It's my home. It's my family," Hamilton adds.
Except we now know that isn't the case. Hamilton shocked the motorsport world earlier this year when he confirmed he would be moving to Ferrari – and a red overall – from 2025 onwards.
Hamilton activated a release clause in his Mercedes contract to step into Carlos Sainz's seat in what has been reported as a "multi-year" deal.
The other question lingering over F1 and absent from this season of Drive to Survive is the news question of Christian Horner's future in the sport.
It may be a case of the doc makers over at Box to Box Films having completed the episodes before news broke, which may also apply to Hamilton's Ferrari move.
Horner has become one of the biggest personalities of Drive to Survive – even this season once again inviting the Netflix cameras into his Oxfordshire home to be greeted by former Spice Girl Geri Horner and, bizarrely, Santa Claus. Yet the F1 off-season has been dominated by allegations of his behaviour at Red Bull.
Red Bull Racing's parent company confirmed in early February that Horner is being investigated following an accusation of "inappropriate behaviour" from a female colleague. Horner denies the claim.
As the 2024 season revs into action in Bahrain, Horner has spoken to press about the ongoing investigation. "As you are well aware there is a process going on which I form part of, and as I form part of that process, I am afraid I cannot comment on it," he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Mercedes boss Wolff shared his own thoughts on the investigation during a press conference at the pre-season testing. Wolff has a famously scrappy relationship with Horner, which Drive to Survive often gives fans of the sport further insight into.
During the press conference, Wolff called for "rigour" within the investigation process. "I think what Red Bull has started as an independent investigation, if this is done in the right way, with transparency, that is something we need to look at.
"F1 and the teams, we stand for inclusion, equality, fairness, diversity and it is not only talking about it, it is living it day in and day out. These are the standards we are setting ourselves.
"We are a global sport, one of the most important sports in the world, and we are role models. It is not just a team issue. It is an issue for all of F1."
Drive to Survive is available to stream on Netflix.
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Previously Deputy TV Editor at Digital Spy and, before that, a TV Reporter at The Mirror, Rebecca can now be found crafting expert analysis of the TV landscape, when she's not talking on the BBC or Times Radio about everything from the latest season of Bridgerton or The White Lotus to whatever chaos is unfolding in the various Love Island villas. When she's not bingeing a boxset, in-the-wild sightings of Rebecca have included stints on the National TV Awards and BAFTAs red carpets, and post-match video explainers of the reality TV we're all watching.
