British-Belgian racer Lando Norris enters 2024 without a win under his belt, but his ambition has been growing since the second season of Drive to Survive, his rookie year in the sport. This year he’s set to take on his off-track friend and reigning champion Max Verstappen. 

Australian driver Oscar Piastri returns for his second Formula 1 season and second year as Lando Norris’ teammate in the other papaya-colored car. 2024 is an opportunity to bring points in for McLaren and bring a challenge to Norris. 

As the only non-Red Bull driver to achieve a race win in 2023, Spanish driver Carlos Sainz Jr. is set for another competitive year, especially after pre-season news broke that Lewis Hamilton would be replacing Sainz at Ferrari in 2025. With his future in his hands, Sainz’ hunt for a seat makes waves in the paddock, on and off the track.

After five seasons at Scuderia Ferrari, Charles Leclerc has taken the mantle as the Italian fans’ favorite driver. In 2024, his eyes are set on winning a championship and also on another try for a win at his home race, the illustrious Monaco Grand Prix, after years of unfortunate results. 

Going into 2024 as a three-time consecutive World Champion, the wickedly fast Max Verstappen endeavors to add another title to his name. Last year only his teammate Sergio Pérez and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz were able to finish in front of the Dutch driver, leaving fans questioning whether he can ever be outpaced. 

Mexican racer Sergio Pérez racked up two wins in 2023, good enough to make him second in the Drivers’ Championship after his teammate Verstappen won 19 of the 22 races. 2024 could prove to be a bigger challenge for Pérez as the rest of the grid attempts to catch up to the Red Bull drivers.

Red Bull and RB’s shared 2023 and 2024 reserve driver Liam Lawson hopes to get a chance at a permanent race seat this year after making his F1 race debut in 2023 when Daniel Ricciardo suffered a broken hand. Lawson spoke to Tudum about the life of a reserve driver: “We put a lot of work in fitness-wise, working with the team to be ready for an opportunity. But when you don’t know when that’s going to be or if that’s going to happen, it’s really easy to lose sight of what you’re working towards.” Could this year be the year the opportunity comes for a full-time seat? 

British race winner George Russell reflected on his 2024 season at the F175 Live event in London: “I feel last year was probably my strongest season ever in Formula 1, and I feel I’m just getting stronger year-on-year.” Russell’s personal best year in the sport is one to watch in this season of Drive to Survive as he prepares for the departure of his teammate of three years.

It shocked the sporting world when the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton announced his departure from Mercedes, the team with which he won those seven titles, ahead of the 2024 race season. The Brit would be making his way to Ferrari, leaving his team principal Toto Wolff to look for a replacement come 2025. 

Young Italian racer Kimi Antonelli makes his Drive to Survive debut this season as a member of the Mercedes Junior Team. “Kimi is such a sweet kid, so lovable,” Hutchings tells Tudum. “I think everyone has a sneaking feeling that this is going to be a really exciting prospect for the future.”

Spanish former World Champion Fernando Alonso continues his decades-long career in 2024. After making a splash in his first season at Aston Martin, Alonso returns to the team for another attempt at adding podiums and wins to his list of accomplishments in Formula 1.

In the last season of Drive to Survive, Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll suffered a pre-season double-wrist injury that could have set back the Canadian but instead propelled him to some of his best results in his career so far. Will 2024 see the green Aston Martins pushing towards the front of the pack once more?

French driver Esteban Ocon returns to the pink and blue car this season, though Drive to Survive isn’t his only Netflix appearance in 2025. “A very good friend, French actress Michèle Laroque, wanted to put me in her movie in a little scene and I said yes straightaway because I wanted to see how it is being in the movie industry, see how different it is to what we usually do in Formula 1,” Ocan said ahead of the F175 Live event. “Hopefully this won't be my last movie appearance because I've enjoyed it a lot.” Catch Ocon’s cameo in Honeymoon Crasher. 

2023 meant a move to Alpine from AlphaTauri for Pierre Gasly, creating an all-French lineup for the French-based team. Since his finish just outside the top 10 in the Drivers Championship, hopes are high that more time acclimating to the Alpine will mean Gasly will move up the ranks. 

Alpine’s Jack Doohan finished thirdin the Formula 2 Championship in 2023 at the same time he held duties as the French team’s reserve driver. This year he’s back in the reserve role, waiting to see if a seat will become available for him so that he can begin his Formula 1 career. 

Drive to Survive viewers met German driver Nico Hülkenberg when he raced for Renault. After leaving the grid for a few seasons, he returned in 2023 to join the Haas team. His impressive qualifying performance cemented his reputation as him a driver who surprises and thrills the crowds. 

Denmark’s Kevin Magnussen finds himself back in a Haas car after a stint with the team from 2017–2020 and again from 2022 onward. This season he won’t be joined by Drive to Survive fan-favorite team principal Guenther Steiner; instead, Ayao Komatsu steps in to lead the Haas team.

British-born Haas and Ferrari reserve driver Oliver “Ollie” Bearman makes his entrance in the 2024 season. His rise to success on the racetrack hasn’t yet translated to sidewalk selfies as he travels the world. “I'm glad that I can still put a normal T-shirt on and get away pretty easily,” Bearman said at the F175 Live press conference. “I can still live like a normal-ish 19-year-old, which is also important.” 

Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda returns to his same team, though finds them with a new name: AlphaTauri  becomes RB. Tsunoda, known for delivering entertaining and colorful radio messages mid-race, continues to develop his skills and make himself a candidate for Red Bull should they need to fill a seat. 

After fans thought they’d said goodbye to Daniel Ricciardo at the end of the fifth season of Drive to Survive, he made a comeback when given a chance in the AlphaTauri seat midway through the 2023 season. In series seven, the Australian returns alongside Yuki Tsunoda, fighting to regain his former place at the front of the grid. 

Thai and British driver Alex Albon looks towards another year of working on returning Williams Racing to its former glory. Thinking back on his career arc in Drive to Survive, Albon said to Tudum, “I haven't had the easiest journey, but I feel like my work ethic and my support structure with the people around me have been so important to me. I think [I’m] the person who never gave up. To be still here in Formula 1 and to be able to say that I’m in a great team and living my dream is very special.”

The sole American driver on the Formula 1 track, Logan Sargeant returns to Williams after a difficult rookie season in 2023. With a few crashes behind him from the year before, the Florida native aims for a fresh start in 2024. 

Alfa Romeo was rebranded as Stake F1 TeamKick Sauber at the start of the 2024 season. Nonetheless, Finnish racer Valtteri Bottas continues to put in work with the team he joined in 2022 after five years alongside Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. 

Ferrari Driver Academy alum Zhou Guaynu makes his way back into the Kick Sauber cockpit after two seasons with the team. Guaynu is the first Chinese Formula 1 driver, and hopes to improve his standings this year after a challenging 2023 season.