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
