Becoming a Formula 1 world champion usually brings with it a privilege reserved for a few: to use number 1 in the following season as a symbol of winning the title. However, Andrea Kimi Antonelli decided to take another path. After winning the crown, the Italian confirmed that he will not change his traditional number and will continue to use the 12 in his Mercedes during
2027.
In a conversation with the specialized media outlet Motorsport.com after the Mexican Grand Prix, Antonelli explained that he has no intention of giving up a number that has accompanied him since his first steps in single-seaters. “I think I'll stick with number 12,” he said. He added: "I'll stick with number 12 because, obviously, it's a very special number for me.”
However, the reasons for keeping it don't end there. The brand-new champion believes that keeping the same number can help him not lose perspective after achieving the most important goal of his career so far. “It's also a way to keep your feet on the ground, to remain humble. I feel that keeping the number 12 allows me to have a new starting point, to rebuild everything and try to keep improving,” he explained
Added to this question is a particular superstition that ended up convincing him not to adopt number 1. With laughter, Antonelli acknowledged that he never had good experiences when he competed with that number. “To be honest, I'm very superstitious and number 1 has never been a good number for me. Every time I've put it on, things have gone terribly wrong! “, he said. And he closed: "So that's one more reason to stick with number 12
.”
In this way, number 1 will once again be absent from the grid for the first time since 2021, when Lewis Hamilton chose to keep 44 after losing the championship to Max Verstappen. Later, both the Dutchman and Lando Norris chose to use it after their respective awards, but now the 20-year-old pilot will not follow that tradition
. Antonelli will keep his number 12
The choice has a strong emotional charge: the bib represents a tribute to Ayrton Senna, one of his great idols and one of the greatest legends in the category (curious fact: in 1988, Senna was the last champion to wear the number 12). In addition, it was the first number he used when he began racing in single-seaters, during his time in Formula 4
.
His superstition was also present during the weekend of the Mexican Grand Prix, in which the Italian finished securing the championship. Even before his consecration was mathematically completed, he received early congratulations from guests and fans, something that did not give him much peace of
mind. Antonelli didn't want to party ahead of time
Faced with this situation, Antonelli preferred to remain cautious until his title was secured and avoided celebrating ahead of time, faithful to a way of thinking that, he acknowledged, is related to his superstition. “And, you know, I have a very clear idea about this: until it's done, it's not done. So I knew that I still wanted to finish the job well, and it's not easy when you keep listening to a lot of people, guests and fans, congratulating you on the championship,”
he said.
Once the objective was achieved, the Mercedes driver acknowledged that he planned to celebrate especially after the Brazilian Grand Prix, when the current triplet of races ends. “I will enjoy this evening. I'll see what I do, but definitely when I get home after Brazil, I'm going to go all out (with the party). And, yes, after returning to Vegas. I probably won't arrive in the best state in Vegas, but I think it's okay, right? Maybe you should enjoy all these moments!” , concluded.
