"He really stood out to me": Kimi Antonelli on his affection for 3x F1 champion and icon Ayrton Senna

A hoard of rookies will be joining the F1 grid in 2025, including Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli. The young Italian was born in 2006 but soon understood the legend of Ayrton Senna within F1 and revealed how the Brazillian driver stood out to him when he first started racing.

Antonelli is a prodigy of Mercedes, who has earned a considerable amount of fame within the paddock even before making his debut. Antonelli won the Italian F4 championship in 2022, which was enough for him to be fast-tracked into F2 in 2024.

The young Italian then earned a promotion to the top of the racing ladder despite having a mediocre F2 campaign. However, when asked about who his idol was, he revealed that Ayrton Senna was the one who always flabbergasted him.

Subsequently, Kimi Antonelli revealed how the three-time F1 champion stood out to him amidst a grid packed with world champions back then (via Mercedes Amg F1):

"Growing up I would get really passionate whenever I watched a DVD of [Ayrton] Senna. He really stood out to me."

Antonelli would race with number 12 in his rookie F1 season.

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Kimi Antonelli reveals Ayrton Senna's angle in taking up his racing number

Kimi Antonelli at the F1 Abu Dhabi Testing 2024 - Source: Getty

Antonelli was inspired by Senna and his driving technique. Inspired by Senna's aura on the grid and legacy, Antonelli started using his racing number during his karting days. The Brazillian driver raced historically with number 12 and won his maiden title while donning the number on his McLaren MP4/4.

Kimi Antonelli then revealed that he took up number 12 because of Ayrton Senna (via Mercedes):

"It is because of Ayrton [Senna]. But it is also the number I first used in single seaters. From F4 I started to use 12 straight away and it worked pretty well with that number. Hopefully I can carry that on in F1. 'Worked pretty well' is one way of putting it. I was also 12 years old when I joined the Mercedes junior programme, so there is that too," Antonelli said.

On the other hand, the teenager has already been getting some mileage with Mercedes. He tested with Mercedes in Jerez, Spain driving the 2020 Mercedes W11.

While the car does not have much relevance in the ground effect era in terms of reliability to current cars, it would have helped Antonelli get up to speed for his rookie year.

The 2025 F1 season is slated to start on March 16, at the Albert Park Circuit in Australia, a track where Antonelli does not have experience racing around. Thus, he would be aiming to leave a good impression on the F1 paddock on his first trip as an official Mercedes driver.