Kimi Antonelli confirms 2027 F1 race number following maiden title win
After winning the 2026 title, Kimi Antonelli has decided what race number he will use for the 2027 Formula 1 season.
Kimi Antonelli has confirmed which number he will use for the 2027 Formula 1 season, after clinching his maiden title during the 2026 Mexico Grand Prix.
The Italian became the youngest ever Formula 1 champion, as he claimed the crown as a 20-year-old, breaking the record that had been held by Sebastian Vettel since 2010.
Antonelli also joined the likes of Lewis Hamilton as he became one of the few drivers to win the Formula 1 title during his second season in the sport, after making his debut with Mercedes in 2025.
There appear to be two obvious choices for Antonelli when it comes to his race number for 2027: it would be between his current number 12 and the number 1, which is reserved only for the reigning champion.
Since 2014, Formula 1 has allowed drivers to pick their own race numbers, which has led to different decisions from the reigning champions. In recent years, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris both opted to switch from their usual number to the number 1. Whereas Hamilton had stuck with his number 44 after winning his titles.
When asked after finishing third in the Mexico Grand Prix, which number he would use next year, Antonelli admitted that the number 12 is ‘a very special number’ to him.
"I think I'll stay with number 12," he said.
"I'll stay with number 12 because, obviously, it's a very special number for me.
"But also 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.
"And also, to be honest, I'm very superstitious, and number 1 has never been a good number for me. Whenever I put it, it went extremely badly. So one more reason to stay with number 12. But, yeah, I will stay with number 12."
On his way to winning the 2026 Formula 1 title, Antonelli won nine Grands Prix, as well as one Sprint Race at the British Grand Prix. As well as his victories, the Italian featured on seven further Grand Prix podiums and one further Sprint Race podium.
