This episode is first time Mercedes is featured in the series, some contrast to it now appearing regularly throughout Season 5. It begins with chronicling the team’s re-entry into F1 after an absence of 50 years, and how Lauda was central to the fight back to the front when he came onboard in 2012 – both in joining forces with then-new team boss Toto Wolff and persuading Lewis Hamilton to join.
For the 2019 season, Netflix first joins Mercedes at Monaco, the first race after Lauda’s death at the age of 70.
Hamilton wins on the principality streets, but it all starts to go wrong at the next grand prix Netflix gets behind the scenes for, at Hockenheim.
The team wears retro uniforms in deference of its 125th year in motor sport, but a wet race soon puts a damper on things. Hamilton goes off whilst leading under the safety car, breaking his front wing, then gets a penalty for entering the pitlane in a dangerous fashion. He later spins and moans on the radio about wanting to retire early, as Valtteri Bottas caps it all by crashing out. The champion team looks suitably chastened afterwards in a brilliant DtS episode.
S3 E4: ‘We Need to Talk About Ferrari’
You may have noticed a theme appearing: things going south in F1 makes perfect DtS dramatic fodder.
Whilst the Scuderia’s first foray into the Netflix world is little more than a bland infomercial (ironically when it was actually winning things), an episode of more gritty reality sees the famous team struggle to get out of the midfield.
Four-time champ Sebastian Vettel knows he’s heading for the exit after the team plumps for Carlos Sainz for 2021, meaning the German is unwilling to play along with PR games as team members turn various shades of Scuderia scarlet.
“We can’t be too funny considering the performance,” drivers are told by their PR people. The rest of the grid is tickled pink though.
S3 E9: ‘Man on Fire’
Romain Grosjean’s terrifying conclusion to his F1 tenure in a fiery shunt at Bahrain provided DtS with one of its greatest episodes.
With the Frenchman coming close to losing his life, the incident is covered with tact and sensitivity – but at no expense to the drama.