The symbolism around Antonelli at Interlagos runs deeper than a one-off paint job. The Italian takes car number 12 to the circuit where Senna remains close to a deity, the same number the Brazilian used to win his first drivers’ title in 1988.
The helmet joins that line. Grandepremio reports that Antonelli will reveal a dedicated design for Brazil tied to the 35th anniversary of Senna’s gearbox-stricken 1991 Interlagos win, the home victory the Brazilian famously finished with only sixth gear.
“Yeah, I will have a special helmet for Brazil, for Ayrton,” Antonelli said, according to Grandepremio.
The public tribute follows a private one from a year ago.
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A grave visit before the helmet
On his first visit to Interlagos in 2025, where he finished second, Antonelli made a quiet trip to Senna’s grave at the Morumbi cemetery and later brought a signed race helmet to Senna’s family. He has described the hour he spent at the grave as one of the most meaningful of that weekend, telling Motorsport Week that the cemetery was near his hotel and that he went in the morning with his coach, bringing a book and spending time in the quiet.
“I really wanted to go and say hi to him,” he told the outlet.
He has called Senna his racing hero in plain terms, and traced the bond to the living room rather than a grandstand. His father worked through old F1 broadcasts on DVD with him as a child, and one driver kept coming to the front.
“Ayrton was the driver who stood out among them all,” Antonelli told Motorsport Week. “Not only because of the driver he was, but also for the personality that he had on and off track. So definitely he became my inspiration.”
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A champion’s first weekend back
Antonelli arrives in São Paulo as reigning champion. He clinched the 2026 drivers’ title at the Mexico City Grand Prix, where a third-place podium was enough to make him the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history. According to Grandepremio, the Mercedes driver will keep number 12 for 2027 rather than switch to the champion’s number 1.
That decision carries its own echo at Interlagos. Senna, who died at Imola in 1994, is per Grandepremio the last driver to have won the title with number 12 before Antonelli did it this year.
Race day in São Paulo is Sunday, November 8, with lights out at 2pm local time over 71 laps of the Autódromo José Carlos Pace.
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