Oct.27 (GMM) Kimi Antonelli says he intends to keep racing with number 12 even if he becomes F1’s youngest ever world champion in Mexico.
The Mercedes driver told Blick that he does not plan to switch to number 1, unlike Max Verstappen in recent years and current champion Lando Norris.
“First I have to do my job in Mexico,” Antonelli, 20, said.
“But I think that once I’ve finished, I’ll still compete with my number 12!”
Antonelli, a long-time Ayrton Senna fan, chose 12 partly because Senna raced with the number during his Lotus years in 1985 and 1986, before Formula 1 introduced permanent driver numbers.
Lewis Hamilton also famously kept his permanent number 44 during his latter championship years rather than adopting number 1.
La Gazzetta dello Sport, meanwhile, reports Antonelli is already joking about one possible celebration.
“I’ll dye my hair after the win,” he revealed.
“I haven’t decided how yet, I’ll talk to my parents, but maybe something with two colours, quite exotic.”
Meanwhile, Toto Wolff has hit back at Dr Helmut Marko’s recent claim that George Russell has permanently been relegated to number 2 status and will never win a world championship.
“He’s my Austrian not-so-buddy, but I respect his opinion,” he said.
“But I think he’s wrong on George. George has all the ability. I think the car doesn’t suit him.”
Wolff said Russell may also have struggled with the shock of seeing Antonelli emerge so strongly.
“At the beginning of the season, it’s maybe difficult to cope with a situation where you feel this is your year, and then you have a wunderkind on the other side who starts to chip away,” the Mercedes boss added.
But he insists Russell remains championship material.
“If we provide him with a quick car, it’s absolutely possible,” said Wolff.
“He has what it takes to win a championship.”
Former F1 driver Christijan Albers praised Wolff’s response on Viaplay.
“It was a good interview, because he defends George,” said the Dutchman.
Albers said Russell’s difficulties underline how much a driver’s style can depend on whether the car suits him.
“Your driving style: does it fit the car, yes or no?” he explained.
“Then you’re a sitting duck. That’s really very frustrating.”