Common Sense Media Review
By Jose Solis
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Short Formula 1 docu with some language, positive themes.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Seat
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
THE SEAT is a 2025 documentary short (approximately 40 minutes) directed by Kyle Thrash that chronicles the behind‑the‑scenes decision by Mercedes‑AMG Petronas to promote 18‑year‑old Italian racer Kimi Antonelli to their Formula 1 team. The film offers access to private WhatsApp exchanges involving team principal Toto Wolff, revealing the strategic considerations and personal stakes leading up to Antonelli's rookie season. It also highlights Antonelli's personal background, family support, and mental and physical preparation as he takes on the pressures of a professional racing career.
Is It Any Good?
Touted as a celebration of a historic moment in motorsports, this documentary about Kimi Antonelli's rise to Formula 1 plays more like an overlong commercial for WhatsApp and Mercedes. Unless you're already deep into racing fandom, there's not much here to hold your attention, despite the short running time. Kimi remains a distant figure throughout, disciplined, determined, but largely unknowable, not "role model" material in a profound way. Does he have friends? Hobbies? A life outside of the cockpit? The film doesn't seem interested in finding out.
Kimi's complex relationship with his father, which could have been a compelling emotional thread, gets reduced to a few tense moments that go unexplored. Marco Antonelli hovers in the background, all tough love and toxic masculinity, seemingly using his son's success as a vehicle for his own emotional evolution. Instead of feeling moving, it plays as quietly sad.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the way Kimi handles his emotions when he thinks he has let others down. What advice would you give him?
What do you think of Kimi's father's "tough love"? Is this a healthy way to communicate with his son? How does this affect their relationship?
How does Kimi show courage and perseverance?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : May 5, 2025
- Cast : Kimi Antonelli , Marco Antonelli , James Allison
- Director : Kyle Thrash
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Documentary
- Run time : 40 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : June 26, 2025
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