Mercedes announce release of Kimi Antonelli ‘The Seat’ documentary on Netflix

The 18-year-old Italian prodigy replaced Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes for the 2025 season

Mercedes have announced a new documentary, titled ‘The Seat’, that will air on Netflix next week, charting Kimi Antonelli’s promotion to a race seat at the team in 2025.

The 45-minute documentary will reveal the “private conversations” between Mercedes boss Toto Wolff and 18-year-old Italian prodigy Antonelli last year, leading to the teenager taking Lewis Hamilton’s seat at the Silver Arrows.

Wolff was eyeing a replacement for Hamilton, after six world championships and 12 years with the team, with the Brit deciding to move to Ferrari.

The documentary will air on Netflix, which streams popular F1 docu-series Drive to Survive, on Monday 5 May.

“We’re excited to give F1 fans around the world a unique insight into the process, showing how we arrived at this pivotal moment in the team’s history,” said Mercedes boss Wolff.

The documentary, directed by Kyle Thrash, has been made in association with Mercedes partner WhatsApp and will air a day after round six of the 2025 season in Miami this Sunday.

“It is a dream come true to be an F1 Driver with Mercedes,” said Antonelli.

The 45-minute documentary will air on Monday 5 May (WhatsApp)

“Throughout the process, Toto, the team, and I were in constant communication on WhatsApp and the ‘The Seat’ shows this process from start to finish.

“I can’t wait for the world to join us on this journey streaming the documentary on Netflix.”

Antonelli has impressed in his opening five races as a Mercedes driver, with four top-10 finishes out of five and a best-finish of fourth at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

He is currently sixth in the drivers’ standings on 38 points, trailing teammate George Russell (in fourth place) by 35 points.