Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli hints his Drive to Survive scene is very close to reality

18-year-old Andrea Kimi Antonelli is the youngest rookie to make his Formula debut in the upcoming Australian Grand Prix. He is not just the youngest but also the chosen one to fill the seat left by none other than the F1 sensation Lewis Hamilton. Since this is no small achievement, the moment forms the subject of the recently released Netflix show, Formula 1: Drive to Survive. Antonelli has now spoken up about the episode and how close it is to reality.

Antonelli features in the third Drive to Survive episode titled ‘Looking out for number 1’. It is an emotional portrayal of how he received the news from the Mercedes boss Toto Wolff himself that he was the chosen one for Mercedes. It beautifully shows how he received the news when he was at home and how his family reacted to it.
Sharing about it, Antonelli said as per Motorsport.com, “I was at home with my parents and I made this video call and there were Toto, James Allison, Bradley, all the 'big' ones. Toto got straight to the point and said to me: 'I don't want to make you wait, next year you will be our F1 driver.'”
He went on to add, "I didn't sleep that night, I spent two hours staring at the ceiling. Relationship with Toto? He's a great person and I'm happy to have a person like him by my side.”

Antonelli will be driving for Mercedes alongside 27-year-old George Russell. He has big shoes to fill after Lewis Hamilton’s headline making move to Ferrari where he will be driving alongside Charles Leclerc.
Drive to Survive executive producer Gay-Rees was very satisfied with how the scene turned out on screen. Praising Antonelli, he told Formula1.com, “He’s such a sweet kid and comes across so well on the screen. It seems like a relatively ballsy move to promote him alongside George, but he’s clearly very talented and he’s obviously been a long-term project for Toto. It’ll also be interesting to see George as the senior Mercedes driver, and how he copes with that in turn. There’s a lot up for grabs this season, it feels like.”
Also Read: Drive to Survive makers excited to gain from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s equation at Ferrari
The show makers have already hinted at what all they are looking for to feature in the eighth season. And certainly that includes the intra-team chemistry or rivalry between Russell and Antonelli as well as Ferrari’s Hamilton and Leclerc.