Kimi Antonelli Keeps F1 Car Number 12 After Winning the Title
The new champion says number 12 keeps him grounded and honors Ayrton Senna. He’ll also wear a Senna tribute helmet at Interlagos.
Kimi Antonelli has the option that comes with an F1 title: race with car number 1. He’s choosing to keep number 12 instead, citing its personal meaning, his admiration for Ayrton Senna and a superstition about the alternative. The decision gives his first season as champion a familiar marker, while making clear that the title won’t change a number he has carried through most of his single-seater career.
Antonelli secured the championship at the Mexican Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver to win it at 20. Lando Norris, the 2025 champion, has used number 1 this season. Antonelli could follow that example next season, but says number 12 is the right choice for him.
Why number 12 matters
Antonelli selected 12 in tribute to Senna. The Brazilian raced with the number for Lotus from 1985 to 1987, then used it during his first title-winning season with McLaren in 1988. For Antonelli, keeping it carries that connection into his next chapter in F1 and maintains continuity with the number he has raced under for years.
“I'll stay with #12 because, obviously, it's a very special number for me, but also it's a way for me to stay grounded, to stay humble,” Antonelli said when asked about taking number 1. He described the choice as a chance to begin again, build on his results and keep improving. In that sense, the number is more than a tribute: it’s also a reminder to approach the next season as work still to be done.
There’s a second reason, and it’s less formal. Antonelli says he’s superstitious and that running with number 1 has gone badly for him before. “Whenever I put it, it went extremely badly,” he said. “So one more reason to stay with #12.” He didn’t describe those past experiences in detail, but the number’s history in his racing career offers a possible clue.
A number with a long racing history
Number 12 has followed Antonelli through most of his single-seater racing. He used it to win the Italian Formula 4 title in 2022 and the FRECA championship the following season. Formula 2 in 2024 was the exception: he raced there with number 4.
His comment about number 1 may refer to a crash at the 2020 World Karting Championship in Portimao. In the wet final, Antonelli was running number 1 when he collided with Maya Weug. Weug was thrown from her kart but was unhurt; Antonelli broke his left leg and foot. The link between that incident and his present-day superstition is plausible, though Antonelli hasn’t explicitly connected the two.
The episode is a reminder that a driver’s number can carry associations beyond the standings or a title. For Antonelli, number 12 links his current F1 career to Senna and to earlier championship wins, while number 1 brings up a memory he’d rather leave behind. Keeping his usual number lets him honor what inspires him without taking on a symbol that doesn’t feel right.
Senna tribute planned for Brazil
Antonelli also plans to mark his visit to the Brazilian Grand Prix with a helmet tribute to Senna. The race at Interlagos gives that gesture a direct connection to the driver he has chosen to honor with number 12: Senna won his home race there in 1991 despite being stuck in sixth gear.
Antonelli said the weekend will mark 35 years since that victory and called the helmet one of his best designs. He also spoke about the support he has received from Brazilian fans, saying it had been strong not only this year but since last season. The tribute makes his number choice visible in a second way, tied to a circuit where Senna’s history is especially prominent.
For buyers and fans watching the new champion’s first season at the top, the practical takeaway is simple: the title won’t bring a new number to his car. Antonelli intends to keep 12 as he builds on his championship, with Senna’s legacy and his own racing history travelling with him.
