The Seat Review: AA fast-paced documentary that replicates the success of Drive to Survive

The Seat, a documentary focusing on Kimi Antonelli’s rise from young prodigy to Mercedes’ next big name, entertains as both a behind-the-scenes look in a Formula One garage and as a much-needed look into the off-grid lives of Formula One drivers. 

(Image Credit to The Hollywood Reporter/Netflix)

*Note: I try to stay as spoiler-free as possible throughout the review. 

Let’s just say Netflix’s branching out into motorsports, particularly Formula 1, is going swimmingly. 

After Drive to Survive came out with its seventh season, Netflix quickly followed that up with The Seat, which focuses on Mercedes’ decision to put Kimi Antonelli into one of the most coveted seats in Formula One in the wake of Lewis Hamilton’s departure. 

At the surface level, The Seat gives us an in-depth look into the humanity of Formula One drivers, reminding us that, despite the fame and media attention, they are just like us. The case of Kimi Antonelli is applied toward this basic formula to perfection; despite having the pressure of living up to Lewis Hamilton’s legacy as a rookie entering Formula One through one of the most famous teams on the grid, he is also a schoolboy who has many years of Formula One racing in front of him. 

His crash at Monza in FP1 encapsulates this; many drivers would shake off an FP1 crash. But considering the aforementioned formula, along with him making his free practice debut on home soil, one can understand the increased pressure on the Italian driver, and it all fits into the next reason why The Seat succeeds: the storytelling. Using found footage and WhatsApp messages, the documentary successfully restructures the Italian driver’s growth dating back to the announcement of Lewis Hamilton’s departure and leading up to the beginning of the 2025 Formula One season. This timeline also allows for a deeper understanding of the pressures facing Kimi and how factors like his personal life all fit into such challenges - all of this information is essential for viewers to be able to relate to the documentary’s central character and to understand the material in depth. 

This is, in fact, the exact same formula that Drive to Survive effectively used to ensure its success, and it is safe to say that such a formula also makes The Seat a very strong documentary.   

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Article written by Noah Guttman