News Made Clear · Loading…
Category
Regions
Topics
Antonelli to keep number 12 after rejecting ‘unlucky’ champion’s number 1
Loading statistics…
New Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli says he will retain the number 12 next season, rejecting number 1 because he considers it unlucky. The 20-year-old says 12 is a tribute to his idol, Ayrton Senna.
Review information is loading.
Newly crowned Formula 1 world champion Kimi Antonelli says he will keep the number 12 next season rather than take the champion’s customary number 1, because he considers 1 unlucky.
“I’m superstitious and 1 has never been a lucky number for me. Every time I’ve had it, things have gone extremely badly,” the 20-year-old Italian said after winning the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Antonelli is the first champion since Ayrton Senna in 1988 to win the title with the number 12. He says he chose it as a tribute to his idol. “The number keeps me grounded and humble. By continuing to race with 12, I can set new goals and try to improve myself,” he said.
His choice differs from those of the two previous champions: Max Verstappen switched from 33 to 1, and Lando Norris from 4 to 1.
How do we know?
1 listed sources · explore evidence, limitations and provenance.
Sign in to give this article a thumbs up or down.
About this discussion and AI questions
Private test discussion. Comments are readers’ views and are not yet automatically fact-checked. Editing is available for 60 seconds after posting.
Sign in with a confirmed reader account and choose a username to read comments and participate.
Sorting applies to top-level comments; replies remain oldest first. New comments and likes can change the order. Refresh for the current ranking.
Loading comments…