The latest installment follows the 2023 season, which turned out to be a record-breaking campaign for Max Verstappen. He aimed to improve his 2022 performance and did an unexpectedly impressive job. However, it looks like the emphasis will be on the smaller storylines this time around.

Formula 1: Drive To Survive Season 6… the official trailer

Full series lands on Netflix on Friday 23 February 2024!#F1 @netflix pic.twitter.com/FktCJMMU11

— Formula 1 (@F1) February 20, 2024

The season opener will focus on Aston Martin and their growing financial issues. Lawrence Stroll wants to do everything in his power to ensure his team’s resurgence, and cameras follow him in his pursuit. The next three episodes capture Nyck de Vries’ axing, McLaren‘s dip, and the battle between Haas and Williams, respectively. Alpine drivers take center stage in episode 5 as their rivalry reaches new heights.

Episode 6 follows Lewis Hamilton as the 7X world champion contemplates his future in F1. The following episodes see a light shine on athletes and celebs investing in Alpine while also focusing on Ferrari bringing Fred Vasseur on board. Episode 9 lays emphasis on Daniel Ricciardo coming back to a driving seat after almost a one-year break. The season finale dives deeper into the rivalry of Mercedes and Ferrari at the end of the 2023 season.

Why isn’t Max Verstappen in DTS season 6?

It is no surprise that Max Verstappen is not the focus of Drive to Survive. In an interview with TIME, he expressed his concerns over the growing marketing-centric moves by the sport’s authorities. He believes the sport is starting to lay emphasis on things that aren’t as important as racing.

Hence, he grows wary of where F1 is headed. With three F1 championships already under his belt, the Dutchman isn’t hungry for any records. Hence, if the dramatization continues, Verstappen will not stick around to experience it.

Max Verstappen says he’s reluctant to get featured frequently in Netflix’s Drive to Survive series:

“Certain things are a bit more private and privacy for me is very important. I like things to be portrayed how they actually are and not with a lot of spice to it”

“I have an… pic.twitter.com/8svQnVMRTu

— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) September 1, 2023

Drive to Survive had a massive impact on the sport’s viewership numbers, especially in America. With the earlier seasons detailing Verstappen’s story, the Dutchman saw a huge fanbase form in the US. However, the 26-year-old isn’t a fan of the dramatization of his story. He doesn’t want to hear his story from someone else’s perspective. Furthermore, given the series is essentially a recap of a season, Verstappen feels it is unnecessary for him to be a part of the narrative since he already knows what will happen.

The post Drive to Survive Goes Beyond Max Verstappen- Untold Underdog Storylines Take Center Stage in Season 6 appeared first on The SportsRush.

In a video that @Landobobnorris posted on X (formerly Twitter), Ilott discusses Norris’ reality. Speaking about it, the IndyCar driver said, “Lando was very small, but very, very fast and a bit of a pain in the a*s sometimes. Cuz he would just be so quick that you had to make sure that he wasn’t gonna get a better review in some area.”

Callum continued, revealing where he had met Norris. He stated that he first encountered Norris during his [Callum’s] third season of Formula 3 and thought his fellow British driver’s ability to drive was a “bit annoying.”

Ilott said that he subsequently discovered Norris had developed into a formidable driver when he visited Formula 1. The Briton explained that this was because Norris had ended up in an environment where he was presented with a whole package for testing to those who were associated with him.

callum talking about lando pic.twitter.com/S16FX6V56s

— Remi ⁴ (@landobobnorris) February 19, 2024

At the age of seven, Norris began his motorsport career with encouragement from his father, Adam Norris. Since then Norris has participated in many European karting competitions. However, as he advanced through the ranks, McLaren took notice of his skills and offered him his F1 debut.

Since then, Norris has established himself as a naturally quick driver. His skill set has even attracted the attention of some big teams like Mercedes and the current champion, Red Bull.

Where is the former rival of Lando Norris now?

While Lando Norris will begin his sixth season with McLaren, his former competitor, Callum Ilott will seize the chance to drive McLaren in the Indycar. Indeed, McLaren will use the British driver in this week’s Indianapolis to find a replacement for David Malukas, who is injured.

However, Ilott has already competed in Indycar races for the past two years with Juncos Hollinger, who last year reportedly established an important partnership with McLaren. At that point in the season, Romain Grosjean replaced Callum, leaving him without a seat.

Nevertheless, following the wrist dislocation suffered by McLaren’s recruit, Malukas, the 2020 F2 runner-up is much more likely to take over as his replacement. Earlier, McLaren was considering him for its reserve drive lineup, but with Ilott’s test, it is now certain that he is going to join the squad.

Besides this, Ilott visited the team last week to perform a seat-filling test where he expressed his sympathies for Maluka’s injury. However, while concluding, he also expressed his gratitude for the testing opportunity with McLaren. He said, “It’s a privilege to test this week with Arrow McLaren. I’m thankful they’re considering me for the opportunity.”

The post “Pain in the A*s”: Former Rival Spills the Tea on Lando Norris’ Reality appeared first on The SportsRush.

“May be suspicious so let’s see the car that rocks out on day one at Bahrain because I’m not sure. It’s going to be that car like this could just be a oh we’re just having a joke,” said Collins on the Sky Sports F1 podcast. In response, Matt Baker phrased it as a “dummy car.” 

“Yeah exactly so so I’m I’m highly suspicious,” said Collins further. She also said that Red Bull had no need to make major transformations from last year’s concept. Considering, everything was going well for the team which lost only one race last year. They had no reason to discontinue the work which did wonders for them.

Adrian Newey, who is the chief technical officer at Red Bull and whom many believe to be the mastermind of the current Red Bull dominance, calls it an evolution of last year’s car. Moreover, he credits his team for adding an immense amount of innovation.

The drivers also got to look at the car when the Red Bull livery launch happened. And the initial feedback by both drivers has been somewhat affirmative of the actions done by their team.

Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen are impressed by Red Bull

Autosport quoted Perez calling the RB20 a “brave” move by his team. He, like others, reiterated that Red Bull has a cushion with their last year’s dominance and had no need to make major reforms in the concept. For him, this shows the immense amount of hunger his team has for excellence.

“Max is on top form, it will be really hard to beat him, but we definitely have to improve on last year”

Sergio Perez on his aims for the 2024 season pic.twitter.com/060Hkk9rS8

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 15, 2024

On the other hand, Verstappen got a peek inside the new design three months before the fans, and he revealed his initial reaction. He claims that he was amazed by the new design and was pleased to witness a move away from being conservative.

Both drivers agree that the RB20 first needs to hit the road before all the hype around it. Though, experts tout Red Bull as the favorite to win the title at this stage of the year, a radical change can indeed bite back.

Excited to get back in the car this week pic.twitter.com/hpz5RyYk5u

— Max Verstappen (@Max33Verstappen) February 19, 2024

Meanwhile, there is excitement around the new concepts by Ferrari and Mercedes. Also, McLaren’s late rise in the season has also aroused expectations. Lastly, the current car designs are expected to be transferred into 2025 as it will be the last year of the current regulations. Thus, making mistakes even more unforgiving.

The post ‘Suspicious’ Ex-McLaren Engineer Jokes Red Bull Is Presenting a Dummy Car Before They Actually Unleash Their True Self appeared first on The SportsRush.

On the Fast and Curious podcast, the 22-year-old revealed that, amid the Alpine-McLaren controversy, he went to play chess with his neighbor. He said, “We went and played chess while social media exploded.” All of it began when Sebastian Vettel declared his retirement, leading Fernando Alonso to leave Alpine to take over the seat at Aston Martin.

Following Alonso’s announcement, Alpine released a statement saying that reserve driver Piastri will be racing for them in 2023. However, as soon as the French team made this announcement, Oscar Piastri came up with a shocker.

Taking to social media the Aussie wrote that Alpine had made this announcement without his consent. In addition, he mentioned that in 2023 he will no longer be driving for them.

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

After a few days, the Woking team announced that Piastri would be driving for them. This was done in response to Daniel Ricciardo’s termination by McLaren. Nevertheless, the betrayal from Piastri had made the Enstone outfit bitter, which made them reluctant to accept McLaren’s announcement.

Subsequently, Alpine got ready for a battle that would ultimately bring the issue to court and involve the Contract Recognition Board. On September 2, the CRB declared that Piastri‘s McLaren contract was legitimate and that he would drive for the papaya outfit.

What happened after Oscar Piastri’s controversial switch to McLaren?

After Oscar Piastri made the infamous switch, there were whispers of links between Alonso’s manager Flavio Briatore, and Piastri’s manager Mark Webber. However, Fernando Alonso denied any such involvement of his manager and claimed that what’s happening with Oscar ‘is completely not his thing. ‘

Although Alonso got away with these statements, Daniel Ricciardo was the one who was most impacted by the situation —both negatively and positively. On the downside, Piastri’s arrival provided made Ricciardo lose his F1 seat. However, if we look at the bright side, the Honey Badger got time to fully recharge his batteries. He secured a contract with Red Bull as a reserve driver and enjoyed an 8-month break from the sport.

Subsequently, he got a seat at AlphaTauri after the squad kicked out Nyck de Vries. Not letting the chance pass, Ricciardo displayed his experience at the Mexican Grand Prix. Consequently, he has been given one additional year to establish his worth and turn his fairy tale dream into reality.

Coming back to Alpine, the squad now includes two good French drivers, Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon. Even though both the drivers are incredibly talented, their relationship is the problem. Because Gasly and Ocon have been rivals since they were young, their present dynamic on the squad isn’t beneficial to the team’s development.

While Alpine is still having problems, Oscar Piastri has already won his maiden race in F1, albeit not the main Grand Prix. However, considering that McLaren gives him the right car this season, the Aussie can get some wins or maybe fight for the title.

The post Oscar Piastri Chose To Play Chess While Internet Exploded With His Alpine Saga appeared first on The SportsRush.

“We definitely feel like we’ve taken a step forward”

Things McLaren fans will love to hear from Zak Brown pic.twitter.com/tojujeoAEW

— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) February 14, 2024

Mercedes faces an uphill task in finding an appropriate replacement for Hamilton. The situation at Ferrari is also tense, given their situation with Carlos Sainz, who has to vacate his seat. Red Bull continues to struggle internally with the Christian Horner allegations.

Taking everything into account, Brown expressed his happiness over the stability of his team. He added he was happy just to read about everything that was going on around them.

“We’ve got real stability. We’ve got visibility to our future. We’ve got youth on our side. And, yeah, there’s been a bit of chaos in Formula One here recently, and we’re glad to just be reading about it and not participating in it.”

Hoping to return to winning ways, McLaren is happy to see chaos unravel in the top three teams. The Woking-based team is doing their best to chase down Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull, and they appear to be in a very strong position. With all three teams weakened in some way, it might be the perfect opportunity for a stable McLaren team to capitalize.

McLaren drivers optimistic of beating Red Bull

Both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are more than positive about the 2024 season. With a late surge in 2023, the driver duo believes their team has done enough to ensure they are equal to Red Bull in terms of performance. Despite often showcasing better one-lap pace, the McLaren cars could not keep up with Red Bull when it came to race pace.

However, Norris is confident the Red Bull team is “beatable.” While defeating them in a season-long battle remains a challenge, Norris is certain McLaren will go home with a few wins.

Meanwhile, Oscar Piastri remains wary of competition from other top teams. He, too, is optimistic about besting Red Bull on certain occasions but remains cautious in his approach. The Australian driver claimed that other teams would be looking for a resurgent season as well. Hence, McLaren needs to keep an eye on them.

Team Principal Andrea Stella has a much more pragmatic approach to things. He conceded that Red Bull will have the upper hand at the start of the season. However, Stella added that if they keep the development rates up, then they can be in a strong position.

The post ‘Reading, Not Participating’ Strategy Has McLaren Poised to Exploit Distracted Rivals appeared first on The SportsRush.

In an interview with Lawrence Barretto, Norris and Piastri joked about being forced to enjoy spending time together. Barretto pointed out that they have a good relationship, to which Norris responded with,

“We’re forced to.” 

All three present in front of the camera let out a hearty laugh, but that wasn’t the end of it. Piastri added that they were contractually obligated to have fun with one another. It goes without saying that both these comments were made light-heartedly, and they indeed, share a good relationship.

“I can see how much you enjoy being together, is that fair?”
lando: we’re forced to.
oscar: by contract, yes.

these two are so unserious pic.twitter.com/v07mv0WpT2

— comfort lando (@safeforlando) February 15, 2024

In fact, ahead of the 2024 season, Piastri told Motorsport that for McLaren to have a successful season ahead, he needs to have an “open relationship” with Norris. As they look to topple Red Bull, and steer clear of other rivals, they must be honest with one another and help McLaren develop steadily.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri want to beat Red Bull

When the 2023 season started, McLaren was arguably one of the slowest teams on the grid. They failed to score points in the opening two races, and questions surrounding the future, especially Lando Norris‘, arose.

With time, however, they developed well and after the 2023 Austrian GP, they became podium contenders regularly. At times, they even gave Red Bull a run for its money. This year, Norris and Piastri want to do that on a more regular basis.

OUR 2024 CHALLENGER. Presenting the #MCL38! pic.twitter.com/92bFXbLSmb

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 14, 2024

“Of course, we’re not winning at the moment. We’re a lot closer than we were, but we still need to find that bit more to challenge and to beat Red Bull,” Piastri said to Motorsport.

Norris and Piastri are the present and future of McLaren. The latter has a contract with the papaya outfit until 2026 whereas Norris recently signed an extension. His previous deal was until 2025, and although the new deal does not have its duration mentioned to the public, it is expected that Norris will be tied to McLaren for the foreseeable future.

The post Lando Norris Quips About Being “Forced” To Enjoy Oscar Piastri As McLaren Teammate appeared first on The SportsRush.

Revered F1 journalist Lawrence Baretto was interviewing the pairing for Formula 1 recently. When Barretto asked if this was the first time the two had seen each other after the 2023 Abu Dhabi GP, Norris jokingly remarked (as quoted on X (formerly Twitter)), “Few days at McLaren [already] and things like that so… tired of each other already!”

“so this is the first time you guys have seen each other since the end of last year?”
oscar: no, we’ve had a couple of marketing days.
lando: few days at mclaren and things like that so… tired of each other already.

pic.twitter.com/5ZMv2bPBBz

— comfort lando (@safeforlando) February 15, 2024

The two have been working together in the past few days for commercial reasons. Piastri explained that in the build-up to the new campaign, McLaren have been carrying out marketing activities.

Oscar Piastri poses a threat to Lando Norris in 2024

After a pretty solid year behind the wheel of the MCL60, Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris will hope to achieve the same kind of success in 2024 with the MCL38. Naturally, after seeing how competitive last year’s car was, the British team will be setting their eyes on Grand Prix wins for this season.

Despite a torrid start to the 2023 season, McLaren miraculously turned their fortunes around with some pretty impactful upgrades from the Austrian GP onwards. In the end, the MCL60 was often the only car fast enough to bother Red Bull’s RB19.

HIS TIME HAS COME NOW, IN THE SPRINT. HIS FIRST WIN IN FORMULA ONE FOR OSCAR PIASTRI! pic.twitter.com/niEYEJ6lKf

— ella⁴ GEORGE DAY!!!!! (@chaIexs) February 15, 2024

The team ended the season on a high note as they grabbed fourth place in the championship ahead of Aston Martin. Moreover, McLaren also grabbed a win, albeit in the sprint, during the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend. In that race, Oscar Piastri pipped Lando Norris to earn his maiden F1 win across any format.

After such an impressive display, the top bosses of McLaren tipped the Australian to become a future world champion. Piastri’s staggering rise could pose a threat to Norris, who would believe at the moment that he is still the number one driver of the team.

The post Lando Norris Jokes That Him and Oscar Piastri Are Already Tired of Each Other appeared first on The SportsRush.

During an interview with This Morning, Lando Norris was asked whether he would be seen on the top step of the podium at the start of the season. Responding to this query, the McLaren driver gave a positive response.

He said, “It’s my goal, it’s our goal. If there’s any season I have had some confidence, I think it’s going to be this one because the team’s in the best place it has ever been.” In addition, Norris also said that he is in the best place and that he wants to continue this way since they are “[the team] just on a little of a roll”.

After debuting in 2019, Norris has participated in 104 Grands Prix. Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, the Briton has failed to secure a single victory. However, the 24-year-old has impressed everyone with his abilities, and as a result, he also got a contract extension beyond 2025.

Hence, it will be interesting to see whether Norris wins a race for the first time in 2024 or not. However, for the #4 driver to take his first win, it would be a very steep task, given the dominance of Max Verstappen.

Lando Norris reacts positively on the idea of challenging Red Bull

Red Bull dominated the F1 season last year, winning 21 of the 22 races. Moreover, Max Verstappen frequently led the race with a lead of over 20 seconds over the second-place finisher. Because of this supreme dominance, the Milton Keynes team only suffered a single defeat in Singapore thanks to Carlos Sainz’s efforts.

Even though Ferrari defeated Red Bull, McLaren continued to be the squad that presented the Austrian outfit with the most formidable opposition. The McLaren drivers not only chased Verstappen and Sergio Perez well in Qatar, but they also outperformed the Mexican driver. Moreover, Piastri and Norris both finished on the podium in the Qatar GP. Piastri even won the sprint race that same weekend.

At the end of the season, both Piastri and Norris’s relentless pursuit paid off, as Norris ended the season with seven podiums (six on P2 and one on P3) and Piastri with two podiums. Following this strong end when McLaren drivers were asked about their chances against Red Bull, the Briton came forward and showed optimism.

He said, “If you were to say ‘are they beatable?’ you’re going to have to say yes. I think we want to believe to say yes, because we were very close at certain times (in 2023) and at certain times we did beat them.” Even though Norris admitted at the end that it would be challenging to beat Red Bull, he remains dedicated to building on their success and going for victories.

The post Lando Norris Is Confident in McLaren for the First Time: “We’re on a Roll” appeared first on The SportsRush.

According to the Briton, sports like Tennis and Soccer offer a more accessible starting point. Hence, he believes it is easier to pick those sports up as a child. The same, however, cannot be said for racing, as per him.

“It’s (Racing) much more difficult. There’s a lot of aspects to it. The technical side – all of that ability to know how to develop, how to make a car quicker. Then there’s the side of driving, that I love,” explained Norris.

The McLaren driver also went on to reveal what it really feels like being in the paddock or on the pit wall and the cockpit. While it may look all easygoing and fun on television, Norris stressed how intense it can all get in the thick of the action during a race weekend.

Lando Norris and McLaren start 2024 season off with promising test run

Although private testing has been outlawed in Formula 1, teams can still get some miles under their belts in the name of ‘filming days‘. That’s exactly what McLaren was doing at Silverstone. Earlier in the day, the Woking-based team finally revealed the MCL38.

The team then quickly took to track as well. The conditions were wet, and Lando Norris got his first taste of the 2024 car, albeit on intermediate and wet tires as compared to the slicks he’ll be using the car on for most of the 2024 season.

Nonetheless, McLaren’s initial testing mightily impressed the Briton. While speaking to Sky Sports F1, Norris exclaimed about how happy he was to be back in the car and was happy for the team as they saw their hard work translating on the track.

A lot is expected of McLaren going into 2024. Despite starting the 2023 campaign in disastrous fashion, the team ended the season in splendid fashion. They finished fourth in the Constructors’ Championship and registered a total of nine podiums.

Lando Norris finished in the top three on seven occasions, while Oscar Piastri managed two podiums. After such a stunning second half of the season with the MCL60 last year, the fans will hope that McLaren takes another huge step forward in this campaign.

The post “It’s Much More Difficult”: Lando Norris on F1’s Comparison With Soccer and Tennis appeared first on The SportsRush.

In reply, Brown said, “We were aware that there was potentially some movement, but that didn’t really have anything to do with Lando. We’d signed him up previously. We were just waiting for him to get back to actually make the announcement“.

After stating the same, Brown went to the extent of suggesting that Norris was perhaps a more sought-after driver than even seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton. “Lando’s top of everybody’s list and ours included,” Brown added. Consequently, McLaren’s top priority was to ensure that they extended the 24-year-old’s contract as soon as possible.

With Norris now having signed a new deal with McLaren, the options for Mercedes are decreasing by the day. Toto Wolff and the rest of the team are likely to have a tough time over the next few months to find a strong replacement for arguably one of the greatest drivers of all time.

However, their first priority in 2024 will be to have as strong of a season as possible. Mercedes launched their car on February 14 and it seemed like a grand success.

Mercedes have made radical changes to their 2024 car

Toto Wolff and Mercedes seem to have stuck to their promises by introducing radical changes to the 2024 car. During their car launch, the Austrian explained how his side looks to recover from the pain of the previous two campaigns.

Although Wolff is well aware of the challenge Mercedes have had to close the gap to the mighty Red Bull, he seems optimistic about his side’s chances going into 2024. “We have a superb driver combination, hopefully a fast car and I think there are some very good ingredients to be back at the front again,” he explained (as quoted by bbc.com).

Mercedes’ launch is likely to have grabbed several eyeballs among the current drivers because this is one of the teams that has a seat vacant for 2025, with Lewis Hamilton set to leave and join Ferrari. One of the drivers who is reported to have an interest in joining the Silver Arrows is double-world champion Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard had an outstanding 2023 campaign with Aston Martin as he secured eight podiums with the team. Following such an impressive display, the 42-year-old has made it clear that his priority is to remain at Aston Martin.

However, he did provide a glimmer of hope to Mercedes fans when he stated that his future will depend upon how the contract negotiations turn out with the Silverstone-based team. He stated that in case things do not work out with Aston Martin, he will look for alternative options.

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