A three-way battle is underway for Ayrton Senna's No. 12

Ayrton Senna, regarded by many as the greatest F1 driver of all time, is still making an impact on young drivers born more than a dozen years after his tragic death in 1994.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, as many as three debutants — Andrea Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes), Jack Doohan (Alpine) and Franco Colapinto (Williams) — are all trying to secure the No. 12 on their respective cars ahead of the 2025 season. The number was embossed on Senna's cars during his stints with Lotus and McLaren between 1985 and 1988, when he won his first world championship.

The FIA has barred the mythical number out of respect for Senna, except for rookie drivers who request it. The last debutant to grace the number was Brazil's Felipe Nasr, who kept it until the end of the 2016 season, his last year as an F1 driver for Sauber. 

Per FIA rules, the No. 12 was unusable until the beginning of the 2019 season (two years after the last debutant used it). However, no debutant driver in the last five years requested the number. 

That all changes in 2025, as Antonelli, Doohan and Colapinto try to carry forward Senna's legacy.

Antonelli, a test driver for Mercedes for several years, brought back No. 12 at Mexico City and Monza earlier this year during a free practice session. Subsequently, Mercedes filed a request with FIA to block the number. According to Giulia Toninelli of Gazzetta dello Sport, Antonelli — who grew up idolizing Senna — is the frontrunner to land the number. 

"He is in pole position in this strange and unprecedented three-way fight for the number 12 that sees the Italian clash with another rookie, Jack Doohan, and with the Argentine Franco Colapinto," Toninelli wrote.

Doohan and Colapinto have expressed interest in driving No. 12 cars next season. While Doohan has been confirmed as Alpine's second driver for 2025, Colapinto is vying for a seat after showing great promise as Williams' replacement driver in the ongoing 2024 season.