Number 12 brought him luck and Antonelli wants to keep it: I’m very superstitious

Kimi Antonelli has enjoyed a virtually perfect season, crowned by his first title. The young Italian is undoubtedly celebrating somewhere right now, but he has already made several decisions for 2027. After sealing the title, Kimi made it clear that he has no plans to change anything that worked for him this season.

That approach includes sticking with number 12, which holds great significance for the newly crowned champion. His great idol Ayrton Senna raced with that number in the junior categories. Senna did go on to carry number one as champion, but Kimi has also had it on his car, despite collecting junior titles at a prolific rate without number 1. Interestingly, following two Formula 4 titles (in Germany and Italy) and two Formula Regional titles (in Europe and the Middle East), the young Italian has now claimed his fifth title with number 12.

“I think I’ll stay with number 12,” Antonelli said in Mexico. “I’ll stay with number 12 because, obviously, it’s a very special number for me.”

But he wants to remain faithful to that number for other reasons too. He carried it on his car during both his first season, which brought plenty of difficult moments, and his title-winning 2026 campaign. Number 12 therefore reminds him that nothing can be taken for granted and that only hard work brings success. “It’s also a way for me to stay grounded, to stay humble. I feel like keeping number 12 allows me to have a new point where to start and to build on everything again and try to improve more,” the Italian driver explained.

Number 1 was certainly very tempting for Kimi. Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris all loved carrying it, while Lewis Hamilton, for example, turned it down. Kimi does not want to do anything to tempt fate. That approach has paid off for him this season.

“To be honest, I’m very superstitious and number one has never been a good number for me. Whenever I put it [on], it went extremely badly,” explained Antonelli, who also refused to give any indication or acknowledge that the title was within his grasp. He simply always tried to shut out all the noise and refused to accept that it was settled.

“I kept hearing the same thing over and over again. And, you know, I’m quite straightforward on 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 hearing from many people, guests, fans, congratulations for the championship. Knowing myself, I’m very superstitious. And I’m telling you, it’s not easy for me, especially being that superstitious!” added the newly crowned champion.