If six drivers try to make full -time F1 debut, some new race numbers will appear in the grid when the 2025 season progresses.
But how did Kimi Antonelli, Ollie Bearman, Gabriel Bortoleto, Jack Doohan, Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson chose numbers for the first full campaign? We explored the story behind each driver’s choice…
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Kimmi Antonelli- #12
The 12th place was a fierce property this year by Kimi Antonelli and Jack Doohan, a fellow rookie. But it was Antonelli that won the Australian as a post, which means that Mercedes will run with the “special” number.
Antonelli previously used #12 in the title championship campaign of the Italian and Germany F4 series in 2022 and operated when the 2023 official championship was obtained in the Middle East and Europe.
And it is not a coincidence that the number was sports by a specific Ayrton Senna, one of the past F1 legends and the idols of Antonelli. Brazil was first raced in #12 in three seasons with Lotus between 1985 and 1987 and won the first victory in F1 in Portugal in 1985.
