After crossing the finish line at the Mexican Grand Prix and becoming the youngest World Drivers’ Champion that Formula 1 has ever had, Kimi Antonelli had to answer a question that was on everyone’s mind: will he trade his race number for the champion’s iconic ‘1’?
His response was simple: "I'll stay with number 12 because, obviously, it's a very special number for me.”
Indeed, a racing number is an important part of most drivers’ careers. For some, it is a homage to someone in their lives, like Liam Lawson’s 30, which comes from his karting coach and childhood hero. For others, it is more of a lucky number, like Max Verstappen’s 3.
Still for others, like Antonelli, a racing number can represent a connection to something, or someone, they’ve never crossed paths with.
The number 12 has been with Antonelli for quite some time now.
“From F4 I started to use 12 straight away and it worked pretty well with that number,” he said to F1 at the start of his rookie season last year.
It’s the number that saw him through four titles before he even reached Formula 1, including the 2022 Italian and ADAC F4 Championships as well as the 2023 Formula Regional European and Middle Eastern Championships.
But beyond all of that runs an even deeper reason why Antonelli chose it in the first place. As he explained in a conversation with SAP, it’s, “Because of my racing idol, Ayrton Senna.
“He raced with the number 12, he won his first World Championship with the number 12, and he’s[...] my inspiration in motorsport.”
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Studying Senna
Antonelli and Senna are separated by over a decade, with Senna’s tragic death in 1994 happening 12 years before Antonelli would even be born. Yet despite this, Senna’s racecraft and legacy were still able to influence Antonelli and shape the way that he approaches his own racing career today.
“I didn’t get to see him racing with my own eyes during my life, but I’ve seen videos,” the latest World Champion said back in his F2 days, “and through that, I could understand how special he was. That’s why he’s my role model. He always got the best out of what he was doing, trying to learn as much as possible so through those videos, he’s become my inspiration.”
Those videos proved to be a vital resource for Antonelli, who recalls watching them religiously with another person who has been extremely influential in his life.
"Well, because with my dad, when I was little, we used to go through lots of DVDs about old F1 races from the '90s. All the way to the 2000s,” he said to Formula Rapida in early 2025.
And the way Antonelli speaks about his idol makes it clear that he has dedicated time and effort into studying the tapes, learning from a figure who may not have been there in person, but who still served as a teacher.
On some of his favorite performances by Senna, Antonelli said, “I think Donington 1993 when he won the race in the wet, almost lapping everyone. Then there’s also the Monaco lap. Or Jerez where he had two cars in front of him and had to avoid them but still put the car on pole. Spa when he jumped out the car to turn off the engine because he saw the driver wasn’t conscious.”
On some of his favorite performances by Senna, Antonelli said, “I think Donington 1993 when he won the race in the wet, almost lapping everyone. Then there’s also the Monaco lap. Or Jerez where he had two cars in front of him and had to avoid them but still put the car on pole. Spa when he jumped out the car to turn off the engine because he saw the driver wasn’t conscious.”
An influence off the track as well
Antonelli’s mention of the 1992 incident in Spa, when Senna abandoned his own car during Qualifying to save the life of Erik Comas, points to a respect that surpasses just his talent and skill inside the cockpit.
When asked about how Senna inspires him ahead of the 2026 Mexican Grand Prix, Antonelli said, “It’s not only the incredible driver he was, but it was also the person he was outside of the track. Very, very empathic, someone that was trying to help the less fortunate. But as well, you know, his mindset and his way to see things.”
Antonelli also spoke of Senna’s impact, saying, “What obviously stood out is what he left, you know. Despite everything that happened, still nowadays everyone talks about how great he was.
“So the mark that he left, it was one that I would like to, hopefully, at least leave[...] once I retire.[…] The impact that he had on people, on the sport, on everybody, that’s why his legacy is still nowadays[...] an incredible story.”
Carrying the legacy of the number 12
Senna could be ruthless on track, but it’s his authenticity and down-to-earth nature that Antonelli points to in keeping his racing number, saying, “it's a way for me to stay grounded, to stay humble, and I feel like by keeping number 12 it allows me to have a new point where to start and build on everything again and try to improve.”
What’s more, Senna and Antonelli are now forever connected by the number 12 as the last two drivers to have won the Championship with it on their cars.
The connection will likely feel all the more significant as we head toward Senna’s own home race, the Brazilian Grand Prix, where Antonelli will be sporting a custom helmet honoring his hero.
Last year, Antonelli visited Senna’s burial site as a rookie at the very start of his career paying tribute to someone who he may never have met, but still felt like he learned so much from. And this year, if he goes again, he will be doing so as a Champion, a true graduate and peer of Senna’s, and someone worthy of carrying the legacy that comes with the number 12.
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