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Antonelli Rejects #1 for 2027 F1 Season
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In Short: Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli will not use the #1 for the 2027 season, citing superstition and past bad luck.
Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli has explained why he is choosing not to run with the title winner's #1 on his car next season, according to The Race. Antonelli, who secured the 2026 world championship, has cited superstition and past bad luck as reasons for his decision.
Antonelli's choice not to use the #1 is tied to a 2020 World Karting Championship incident at Portimao, where he collided with Maya Weug while running the #1, breaking his left leg and foot. He said, "It's going to be 35 years since he won [stuck] in sixth gear, his home race," referring to a past achievement.
Antonelli has also revealed plans to run with a Senna tribute helmet at the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend to celebrate Ayrton Senna's famous 1991 success at Interlagos. Antonelli chose #12 as his F1 race number to honor Senna, who raced with it during his Lotus years from 1985-87 and in his first title-winning campaign with McLaren in 1988.
Antonelli's success in Formula 4 with Prema Racing and his transition to Formula 2 set the stage for his F1 career. He won his first F1 victory at the Chinese Grand Prix in March 2026, kicking off a remarkable run of five consecutive wins.
Antonelli's title triumph in Mexico, in a car that is no longer dominant, was befitting the occasion. He secured the 2026 world championship after finishing third at the Mexico Grand Prix, with four races remaining in the season.
Antonelli's achievement is particularly impressive given that he is only 20 years old and in his second season in Formula 1. He has won nine of the 19 races held this season, leaving him 123 points clear of his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
Antonelli's triumph marks the end of Italy's 73-year wait for a third Formula 1 world champion, according to ESPN. His achievement is seen as a remarkable feat, especially considering the competition from his teammate and other drivers.
What this adds
Antonelli's decision to reject the #1 for the 2027 season is consistent with his superstition and past bad luck with the number, as reported by The Race. This decision adds to the narrative of his personal connection to the number 12 and his respect for Formula 1 history.
Background
Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli will not use the #1 for the 2027 season, citing superstition and past bad luck.
What's confirmed
- Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli has explained why he is choosing not to run with the title winner's #1 on his car next season, according to The Race. Antonelli, who secured the 2026 world championship, has cited superstition and past bad luck as reasons for his decision.
- Antonelli's choice not to use the #1 is tied to a 2020 World Karting Championship incident at Portimao, where he collided with Maya Weug while running the #1, breaking his left leg and foot. He said, "It's going to be 35 years since he won [stuck] in sixth gear, his home race," referring to a past achievement.
- Antonelli has also revealed plans to run with a Senna tribute helmet at the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend to celebrate Ayrton Senna's famous 1991 success at Interlagos. Antonelli chose #12 as his F1 race number to honor Senna, who raced with it during his Lotus years from 1985-87 and in his first title-winning campaign with McLaren in 1988.
- Antonelli's success in Formula 4 with Prema Racing and his transition to Formula 2 set the stage for his F1 career. He won his first F1 victory at the Chinese Grand Prix in March 2026, kicking off a remarkable run of five consecutive wins.
- Antonelli's title triumph in Mexico, in a car that is no longer dominant, was befitting the occasion. He secured the 2026 world championship after finishing third at the Mexico Grand Prix, with four races remaining in the season.
- Antonelli's achievement is particularly impressive given that he is only 20 years old and in his second season in Formula 1. He has won nine of the 19 races held this season, leaving him 123 points clear of his Mercedes teammate George Russell.
- Antonelli's triumph marks the end of Italy's 73-year wait for a third Formula 1 world champion, according to ESPN. His achievement is seen as a remarkable feat, especially considering the competition from his teammate and other drivers.
What's still developing
- It is the number that he carried as he won crowns in Italian Formula 4 in 2022 and FRECA the following season.
- What happened between Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in Mexico became a "lack of respect" for Ferrari Our take on Kimi Antonelli's 2026 achievement and what happens next Edd Straw is joined by Josh Suttill and Diego Mejia to review the Mexican Grand Prix on The Race F1 Podcast Copyright © The Race 2026.
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- Kimi Antonelli shares an embrace with Toto Wolff Antonelli's victory is, of course, not his alone, but that of an army of engineers, mechanics and other staffers across Brackley, Brixworth and F1 paddocks around the world.
- So, in the aftermath of an insult that slipped out of Kimi Antonelli's mouth during the second drivers' press conference, Flavio Briatore, executive advisor to the team Alpine, delivered a sequence that will surely be remembered at the end of the season, this Friday afternoon.
- He needed to cross the line ninth or higher and has now wrapped up the title with four races of the season to go.
- Antonelli's triumph means Formula 1 has crowned a first-time world champion in consecutive seasons, following McLaren's Lando Norris in 2025.
- And it's even more impressive that it's only his second season in Formula 1 and he's 20 years old," he said. The McLaren driver added that Antonelli had consistently outperformed his Mercedes teammate throughout the season, with very few mistakes. "I think the fact it's his second year, he has a very strong teammate, but he's beaten him the whole time, the whole season.
- The long 24-race season often takes its toll on the paddock, particularly with the two triple headers of USA-Mexico-Brazil and LAs Vegas-Qatar-Abu Dhabi which end the year.
- However, Antonelli has said that he will stick with his current #12 - as that number has personal significance for him, plus he has not had the best of luck in the past when he has run with #1.
- That feat gives him the opportunity if he chooses to run with the #1 on his car next season, as 2025 champion Lando Norris has done this season.
- We take a look at F1's other young champions and how Antonelli's achievement compares with theirs.