When it comes to Formula 1, there is no shortage of bickering drama and daily scandals. Netflix’s arrival on the scene with their widely criticized docu-series Drive to Survive only added to the pre-existing problem by pouring fuel on the already raging fire. As the show now steps into Season 8, the stage has been set for one of the biggest simmering rivalries on the F1 paddock.
With Red Bull and McLaren already locking horns over the Championship title going into 2025, there is also additional animosity between the respective team’s principals. Clearly, there is no love lost between Christian Horner and Zak Brown, but as amicable as the rivalry between their star drivers may be, Horner and Brown can hardly stand to be in the same room with each other.
This animosity has now led to one of the most brutal clashes of words across the F1 grid that will certainly be a key attraction of Drive to Survive Season 8.
Max Verstappen gets dragged into a new scandal
With his untameable personality, Max Verstappen has gone on to win four World Drivers’ Championship titles in a row since 2021. Surrounded by a team as powerful as Red Bull and as ruthless as its team principal, Christian Horner, Verstappen has found a balance at the Milton Keynes-based outfit that is unlike any other on the paddock.
However, in 2024, the unrivaled driver finally found a match in McLaren’s Lando Norris as the young Brit rose to the challenge and became a thorn in the Red Bull champion’s path to the top. Despite their cutthroat battle on the tracks, Verstappen and Norris are hardly enemies, and while Drive to Survive may like to paint a different picture, they remain very close friends with each other off the grid.
On the other hand, when it comes to Norris and Verstappen’s respective team principals, the duo in their 50s have an intense hatred for one another that translates well on the screen. Frequently heard badmouthing one another on the grid, Zak Brown and Christian Horner hardly have the level of restraint or civility as Norris and Verstappen.
As a result, in one of Brown’s condescending tirades against his Red Bull rival Horner, Max Verstappen was dragged into the middle of their hostile rivalry due to a scandalous claim made by the McLaren team principal.
Drive to Survive S8 might focus on one rumor above all
Drive to Survive has always excelled in spinning tall tales from existing storylines. In Season 8, the Netflix series might once again do the same regarding one outrageous claim made by McLaren team principal, Zak Brown.
As speculations build around Red Bull’s management and performance strategy in 2026 (with the new FIA regulations kicking in), Brown has deduced that Verstappen’s tenure with Red Bull is finally coming to an end. While it may be difficult to imagine Verstappen joining hands with another team, Brown is determined to believe otherwise.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Brown claimed:
I think he’ll leave at the end of this year. Most likely to Merc. There’s been talk of Aston Martin, too, with Adrian Newey joining. But as great as Adrian is – and he’s the greatest ever – you need a whole team around you. You need the culture. That takes time. If I was betting, I’d bet on Merc. In the last 10 years, they’ve won the championship seven or eight times. Last year they won five races. They have stability. We know Toto [Wolff] likes him…
While the rumor mill has been working overtime to find out the status of Max Verstappen’s tenure at Red Bull, Brown’s claims may not be entirely unfounded. Last year, Jos Verstappen made headlines by claiming that Horner’s presence in Red Bull would tear the team apart and Max Verstappen did not entirely stand by his principal when he claimed, “My dad is not a liar.”
Moreover, with George Russell’s contract coming to an end after this season and Wolff vehemently courting the current champion after Lewis Hamilton’s exit, the new engine regulations of 2026 may put Red Bull on the back seat when it comes to winning another championship title.
Drive to Survive Season 7 is now streaming on Netflix.
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