At dawn on February 1, 2024, motorsport was shaken by the news that Lewis Hamilton would leave Toto Wolff’s team to join Ferrari. It was a historic sporting event with no precedent, leading everyone to wonder what would happen next and who would replace the seven-time world champion. Several drivers with expiring contracts were considered, including Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon.
In the end, Wolff chose Kimi Antonelli, who was announced during the Monza weekend as a Mercedes driver from 2025. The documentary shows what happened after that; how the young Italian was gradually introduced into the world of Formula 1; and Toto Wolff’s decision to promote an inexperienced 18-year-old, making him the third-youngest rookie in the history of the sport.
The film shows his first meetings with the team, Wolff’s trust in him, his early interactions with Peter “Bono” Bonnington—currently his race engineer—and other key Mercedes personnel.
The Seat: Building the “Fairy Tale” of Antonelli
The story is reconstructed through the use of footage, behind-the-scenes images, and real WhatsApp conversations among those involved (the company helped produce the film, being a Mercedes sponsor).
In Netflix’s hands—skilled at turning even small stories into glossy drama—The Seat becomes the realization of a dream: that of a young man raised in a racing family, destined to occupy the coveted seat left vacant at one of Formula 1’s top teams.
The story of the signing is already well known, but Netflix adds a dramatic layer to the documentary. Kimi Antonelli’s tale is anything but ordinary. The young man from Bologna is portrayed as the embodiment of Mercedes’ future. A rising champion. He carries the weight of that role: the pressure of the Monza weekend, the mistake in free practice, and the resulting discouragement.
Like a fallen hero—a narrative Netflix particularly enjoys and has used in Formula 1: Drive to Survive—Kimi Antonelli rises again, rolls up his sleeves, and goes back to training to prove to everyone (but above all to himself, and in honor of his family) that he can make it. He’s ready to race against the 19 best drivers in the world.
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