Hopes are pinned on the new generation of F1 cars to provide better racing, as drivers compare notes on their different machines at a photo shoot.

“As long as it’s fast, who cares?” asks George Russell prophetically of his Mercedes.

We then rewind to the first pre-season outing at Barcelona, when the advent of Russia’s invasion into Ukraine results in Haas’s Nikita Mazepin being fired and the branding of his father Dmitry’s Uralkali company stripped from all team equipment.

Neither Mazepin is given a chance to have their say on the matter, but Steiner predictably has some choice words.

We then see Kevin Magnussen make a glorious return in the Russian’s place to finish fifth in the season opener, with Ferrari taking a 1-2, leaving Steiner and Binotto to toast the result over a glass of vino tinto.

 

Mercedes’ porpoising comes under scrutiny

Episode two focuses on the porpoising issues that plagued many teams, particularly Mercedes, in 2022.

As Merc boss Toto Wolff desperately protests that technical adjustments should be made for safety, other team principals question the rationale of his argument, suggesting he’s just not used to losing.

Various team personnel later speculate whether Lewis Hamilton has had enough and might leave the sport, but he bounces back – almost literally – to take a podium at the thrilling British GP, but Russell’s Sao Paulo GP win isn’t featured.

 

Ferrari’s implosion is documented

Drivers and teams revel in the Super Bowl-esque Miami GP as a signifier of F1’s newfound popularity in Episode 3, but Ferrari struggles to stay optimistic as it loses out in the race to Red Bull.

Things really then begin to unravel as Maranello hands the Monaco initiative to Milton Keynes on the soaking principality streets, which is met with harsh words on the radio by Charles Leclerc.

The mood is still mixed at the British GP, as Sainz wins but Leclerc loses championship momentum due to strategy calls – one of the latter’s associates berates Binotto afterwards.

 

Netflix looks at Mick Schumacher’s Haas struggle

The series then shifts focus back to Haas and Mick Schumacher’s desperate attempts to rescue his seat for 2023.

Things start badly for young German, with scathing words aimed his way from Steiner, team owner Gene Haas and even his mechanics after huge crashes in Saudi Arabia and Monaco accompanied by poor performances in other rounds.

Schumacher goes through moments of reflection in training before finding his mojo with a very first points finish at Silverstone.

 

Oscar Piastri row gets the Netflix treatment

The series then really hits his stride as the Oscar Piastri contract row ignites after Fernando Alonso’s shock exit to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel at the Aston Martin team for 2022.

An extra edge is added by the fact Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer and McLaren boss Zak Brown have a clear dislike of each other.

Though the former team indicates it wants to keep Alonso on, tensions rise over the Hungarian GP weekend as Szafnauer begins to suspect something is up, before the Spaniard is announced at Aston the day after the race.

Alpine says Piastri will race for them instead for 2023, but the Australian contests via social media he has no such plans.

It becomes apparent the Australian believes he is heading to McLaren for next season, in place of Daniel Ricciardo, and cameras capture Brown and Szafnauer heatedly negotiation, with the latter threatening to sue Piastri.

Alpine then agonises over whether to rehire former employee Ricciardo, Schumacher or AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, with the Frenchman winning the seat after a battling performance at Zandvoort.

With Gasly’s future confirmed, the lens moves to Sergio Perez and Red Bull, as the Mexican endeavours to continue with the Milton Keynes – team boss Christian Horner and wife Geri first debate the issue over a cup of tea in the family home.

The cameras follow the team in Monaco, with the team locked in a fierce battle with Ferrari. Perez has struggled for consistency in early ’22.

After securing third on the grid at the Monte Carlo street circuit – via a crash which prevents team-mate Verstappen from setting a faster time – the Mexican is then handed the race on a plate by a bungled Scuderia strategy, and signs a new contract with the team.

Yuki Tsunoda’s sophomore season also comes under scrutiny, with the guiding hand of Pierre Gasly soon to be absent with the Frenchman on his way to Alpine.

The Japanese driver’s growth is appreciated by the team, but the Italian squad makes it clear that it expects even more from him with Dutch hotshot Nyck De Vries joining AlphaTauri for 2023.

 

Netflix scrutinises Red Bull cost cap ‘overspend’

Continuing the Red Bull theme, the cost cap controversy is also brought under the microscope, with the Milton Keynes team accused by some of a serious overspend.

Various team bosses vent their unfiltered views on the matter, leading Horner to strike back by laying into Binotto on the Singapore GP grid pre-race.

Horner then goes for a private meeting with FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and a $7m dollar is fine is handed out to the extremely disgruntled Red Bull team.

 

Ferrari admits errors as Binotto departure is implied

Series 5 ends with the Ferrari/Mercedes battle for the constructors’ runners-up spot and the Alpine/McLaren battle for fifth.

The Scuderia of course wins out, but through on-screen analysis of the teams various errors, torpedoing its own title chances, Binotto’s impending departure is implied.

Alpine beats McLaren to fourth, a consolation victory for Szafnauer and team after losing Piastri.

Vettel, Ricciardo and Schumacher all bid farewell, as Logan Sargeant, Nico Hülkenberg and De Vries are welcomed in anticipation of 2023.