How Formula 1's biggest names chose their racing numbers

Formula 1 racing is one of the most prestigious motor racing competitions today, as well as one of the world's most popular annual sporting series. The world tour runs from March to November and spans 23 races over 2 countries.

Up until nine years ago, drivers' race numbers in Formula 1 were assigned based on each team ranking in the previous year’s championship. But in 2014 that system was changed with the drivers then allowed to pick a number that would stick with them throughout their F1 career.

During the first seven years of his f1 career, Verstappen raced with the number 33 on the front of his car. He revealed that he originally wanted number 3 but former teammate Daniel Ricciardo was already using it, so Verstappen began using 33. Double the three, double the luck.

After winning his first championship in 2021, Verstappen chose to race with number one on his car for the rest of the 2022 season and will also do so for the 2023 season following his consecutive championship triumph. Number one is reserved for the world champion from the previous year.

“Number one is the best number out there so for me it was very straightforward to pick the number one, and hopefully number 33 doesn’t come back next year," shared Verstappen.

Sergio Perez’s race number has nothing to do with his junior days in motorsport, nor does it involve any superstitious beliefs. In fact, his race number comes from his childhood hero, Ivan Zamorano. Zamorano was a Mexican football player at Club America, playing with number 11. 

Perez went on to adopt this number in his early racing years. “When I was karting, I also wanted to have the number 11. Since then I’ve always used 11. Still, my email is with the number 11.”

Leclerc’s number 16 is plastered on the front of his scarlet red Ferrari however, he wanted numbers 7 or 10. Due to those numbers being taken, the Monegasque driver had to settle for 16 “one plus six equals seven and I was born on the 16th of October. So, not a very interesting story…”

When Sainz came into Formula 1, he originally wanted to use the number five as his racing number. Nevertheless, the four-time world champion, Sebastian Vettel was already using it. The Spaniard then decided to put two fives together, making it 55. A creative solution to keep one's favorite number plastered on their car!

Since the rule was introduced to allow drives to race with a fixed number, Hamilton has had 4 plastered onto his Mercedes. The Briton has won six world titles since then, but on each occasion, he turned down the opportunity to race with number one on his car, in favor of his 44.

“When I was eight, we got a really old go-kart and it was owned by like five or six different families. It was from the back of the newspaper. My dad got this kart, rebuilt it and we entered our first race with it. We didn’t know what number to use, so we went with the number plate of the car, F44,” said Hamilton.

George Russell, the driver on the other side of the Mercedes garage has also been racing with a part of his family heritage on the front of his car. Number 63 was his brother's number, “he started karting at a local indoor kart center, and he always had number 63, so that has been the family number ever since”.

The French driver has number 31 on his car and has publicly committed to keeping that number for the rest of his career. This was the same number Ocon used in 2007, the year he won his first junior championship.

Alpine’s rookie recruit will continue racing with the number 10 this season. Like Ocon, Gasly also used this same number during his junior days, but also as a tribute to one of Frances's most renowned players, Zinedine Zidane.

Gasly became a Formula Renault European champion in 2013 while racing with number 10. He has since then stuck with that number as he still awaits a title in his F1 career.

Much like Leclerc and Sainz, Norris’ race number was also not his first choice. The McLaren driver admitted he entered the competition in 2019 with two numbers in mind, however, they were in use and had to settle for number 4.

“Numbers 11 and 31 were the two numbers I had in Formula Renault, Formula 3, and 4. They were already taken by the time I got to Formula 1. Four was the best one in the end, mainly because it fits very nicely into my logo,” shared Norris.

In his rookie campaign with McLaren, Piastri will be using number 81. A number very dear to Piastri, as 81 was the first number he used when he started karting. When he began racing, he originally wanted to use the number 11, but the number was taken, making 81 the one.

The legendary Finn initially wanted to pick number 7, but later realized that two sevens are better than one! The veteran driver has over ten victories with the number 77, making it a hot number.

“I just really liked the number. I’m not superstitious or anything. Initially, there was a bit of a plan that we would try Valtteri Bottas, that instead of a ‘T,’ you could use a seven for some designs, but I never really used it anyways," said Bottas

The Alfa Romeo driver has the number 24 plastered on the front of his car as a tribute to his childhood hero, the NBA icon Kobe Bryant. “Kobe Bryant was a big inspiration to me when I was more interested in basketball than motorsports. What impressed me most was his work ethic. Even though he was considered the best player of his era, he worked tirelessly on himself,” Zhou revealed.

The veteran Spaniard races with number 14 on his car, a number he holds very dearly due to his karting days as a young driver. The two-time world champion shared he won his first title at age 14, on the 14th of July, with number 14 on his car. “From that moment on, I had no doubt that 14 is my number,” Alonso said.

Alonso’s new teammate also shares a lot of history with his race number. The Canadian driver has no plans to use any other number other than 18. Number 18 was Stroll’s junior racing number, where he won his first titles in Formula 3 and Formula 4. “I’m a little superstitious, not very superstitious but little things like that are important to me.”

Nyck de Vries will be racing with number 21 on the front of his car during his debut season in Formula 1. The Dutch driver wanted to use number 17 for his debut season, as it was the same number he used during his spell at Formula E. Nevertheless, number 17 has been removed from Formula 1, following the passing of Jules Bianchi.

Another driver that was hoping to use the number 11 on their car was Yuki Tsunoda, yet Sergio Perez is still making use of it. The Japanese driver settled for 22 as his new race number, simply doubling the number 11.

The Danish driver, Kevin Magnussen, competes with number 20 on his race car. Following his Formula Renault 3.5 Series title in 2013, he has then since stuck to his lucky number.

The Hulk returns to the F1 grid with team Haas and will be using number 27. This is the same number Nico was using at Force India and Renault. The driver uses the number 27 as it is the date and month of his birthday added together.

This up-and-coming season looks very promising with some high-octane action. Best of luck to all drivers!