He had gone into the weekend knowing Antonelli was highly likely to clinch the title. Afterwards he was close to tears while being weighed.
Asked if he would adopt No. 1, Antonelli said he would stay with 12. “I’ll stay with No 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,” he said. Kimi Antonelli sealed the Formula One drivers’ championship with third place in Mexico and said he would keep No. 12 on his car rather than take the champion’s No. 1.
Antonelli has been with Mercedes since he was 12. Wolff said the Italian’s attitude, enthusiasm and sense of fair play had stood out in a revelatory season for so young a driver. George Russell, who began the season as favourite, said he had given everything and that 2026 was not meant to be his year.
“He should be a role model for the few entitled ones in Formula One,” Wolff said. “Kimi represents the modern Formula One driver, because of those values, not only because of his talent.”. Wolff said he saw Russell on the FIA scales after the race. He did not name others in the paddock but said Antonelli showed that a driver could beat everyone by being a good person.
Russell won the opening race but soon struggled as Antonelli built unstoppable momentum. Russell said that when he was on it he was very hard to beat, but the season unravelled.