Kimi Antonelli stands firm on key F1 2027 decision after Mexican Grand Prix

Kimi Antonelli is standing by his decision to waive his right as the reigning Formula 1 champion to compete with the number 1 on his Mercedes car in 2027.

Antonelli clinched his maiden Drivers’ title with third place in the Mexico City Grand Prix, sealing the championship with four races still to go in his sophomore season.

Kimi Antonelli confirms F1 2027 driver number decision

The Italian’s coronation has now guaranteed that he will be eligible to race with the number 1, reserved for the highest points scorer in the previous campaign, next year.

McLaren’s Lando Norris has held that honour this season, the Briton inheriting the coveted digit from Max Verstappen, whom he pipped to the title in 2025. Prior to being dethroned, Verstappen had sported the number on his Red Bull cars since 2022

Likewise, Sebastian Vettel, the driver that Antonelli has now usurped as the youngest title winner in F1 history, was the first to take up the option to continue running the ‘1’ when the FIA permitted drivers to choose their own race numbers from 2014.

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Having suggested that he was leaning towards not making the switch, Antonelli has announced that he intends to stick with the number 12 he debuted with in 2025, replicating the man he succeeded at Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, who always turned down the chance to take it throughout his own glory-laden spell with the German marque.

“I think I’ll stay with number 12,” Antonelli told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets on Sunday.

“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 one 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.”

Antonelli’s decision has all but ensured that the number one will not be present on an F1 grid for the first time since 2021, when Hamilton was last the defending champion.

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