After four seasons running the number 1, Max Verstappen revealed that he will line up with a brand-new digit on his car in 2026. With Lando Norris set to carry the World Champion\u2019s number next season, Verstappen will switch to number 3 rather than returning to his familiar 33.<\/p>\n
Car numbers can carry a lot of meaning to the grid. Before 2014, car numbers were assigned to each driver based on the previous season\u2019s Teams\u2019 Championship order, avoiding 13 for superstition, but now drivers are free to choose their own unique number. There are two exceptions, with the number 1 being reserved for the current World Champion, while the number 17 is retired in memory of Jules Bianchi<\/a>.<\/p>\n Many drivers loyally stick with their chosen number throughout their junior and senior careers, often carrying it into other racing categories too. However, the new clause allows for number changes with FIA approval, and permission from the driver who had that number within the last two seasons \u2013 case in point: Daniel Ricciardo and Verstappen<\/a>.<\/p>\n With retirements, returns, and plenty of reshuffles, here are 11 times when drivers took another driver’s number.<\/p>\n 3 \u2013 From Daniel Ricciardo to Max Verstappen<\/p>\n Ricciardo and the number 3 have been synonymous since 2014. But the story behind the pairing is very on-brand for the recently retired Aussie. Ricciardo first ran with the number during his younger karting days after quite literally pulling it from a hat. He returned to the number in F1, with an announcement and nod to one of his heroes, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, who famously raced with the same number. It wasn\u2019t long before \u20183\u2019 became part of the Honey Badger\u2019s identity, even using it as part of his DR3 brand.<\/p>\n Now the number 3 is set to make a return to the grid in the hands of Ricciardo\u2019s former team mate and four-time World Champion Verstappen. This week, he announced he would race with Ricciardo\u2019s former number<\/a> after the Aussie and the FIA gave him permission. The duo raced together at Red Bull<\/a> between 2016 and 2018, and for Verstappen, this change is one he\u2019s been thinking about for quite some time!<\/p>\n Speaking to Viaplay, the Dutchman said: \u201cMy favourite number has always been 3, apart from number 1. Number 33 was always fine, but I just like one 3 better than two. I always said it represented double luck, but I\u2019ve already had my luck in Formula 1.\u201d<\/p>\n 5 \u2013 From Sebastian Vettel to Gabriel Bortoleto<\/p>\n Once his four-year reign as World Champion ended at the hands of Lewis Hamilton<\/a> at the end of 2014, Sebastian Vettel<\/a> opted to return to the number 5, the same number he donned when winning his first title in 2010, and that accompanied him to his karting success in 2001. The German was also a big fan of Nigel Mansell<\/a>, so with the number 5 repeatedly popping up, he was inspired to choose it.<\/p>\n Three seasons after Vettel\u2019s retirement at the 2025 season opener in Melbourne, the number 5 hit the track once again, courtesy of young Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto<\/a> \u2013 a new era for this legendary number that has seen so much success. It represents big shoes to fill for the now 21-year-old, but how did Bortoleto come to his decision?<\/p>\n \u201cBecause I won Formula 3 with this number,\u201d he explained on Kick Sauber<\/a>\u2019s social media. \u201cAnd actually from 85, that is the number I used to use in the past when I started go-karting.\u201d<\/p>\n 6 \u2013 From Nico Rosberg to Nicholas Latifi to Isack Hadjar<\/p>\n Just one digit higher was what Mercedes<\/a>\u2019 Nico Rosberg<\/a> had set his sights on ahead of the regulation change in 2014. Reasons why pertained to family \u2013 six is both his wife\u2019s and his dad\u2019s lucky number. And that luck transferred, as Rosberg won the Drivers\u2019 Championship in 2016 with six on his car, 34 years after his father Keke Rosberg<\/a> won the 1982 World Championship with the same number!<\/p>\n Just a few years after Rosberg\u2019s retirement, Nicholas Latifi joined the grid, also represented by the number 6. His reasoning came from his Canadian background, as Latifi was born and raised in Toronto. The Williams<\/a> driver explained to fans: \u201cToronto is known as the six, basically if you\u2019re from there your area code for your phone number is either the 416 or 647.\u201d<\/p>\n Latifi left the grid at the close of the 2022 season, but the number 6 wasn\u2019t off the grid for long. Isack Hadjar<\/a> chose the number for his rookie season with Racing Bulls<\/a> in 2025 explaining on Racing Bulls\u2019 YouTube that the first kart his dad bought him had the number six on it, and he simply never changed it throughout his career. It was a stroke of good fortune for the Frenchman that the number was available, and the partnership served him well, as the success of his maiden season earned him a promotion to Red Bull.<\/p>\n 22 \u2013 From Jenson Button to Yuki Tsunoda<\/p>\n When Brawn GP arrived on the grid for their first \u2013 and ultimately only \u2013 season in F1 in 2009, their drivers were handed the highest numbers available. Jenson Button<\/a> ran with 22, while Rubens Barrichello took 23. At the time, it was simply a quirk of the numbering system, but by the end of the year, 22 had become linked with one of the sport\u2019s great fairytale stories<\/a> forever, as Button and Brawn clinched both World Championships.<\/p>\n \u201cI became World Champion in 2009 with number 22, so I have good memories of 22, and I look forward to making new memories,\u201d the Brit said when announcing his decision for his 2014 season with McLaren<\/a>.<\/p>\n Fast forward to 2021, and the number 22 was back, with Yuki Tsunoda<\/a>. Admittedly, it wasn\u2019t his first choice \u2013 Tsunoda had raced with number 11 during his karting career \u2013 but with that already taken by Sergio Perez, he doubled it instead. In an interview on his former team AlphaTauri\u2019s website, he said: \u201cI also liked it because it was the number of Jenson Button, a driver I respect a lot when he won the Formula 1 World Championship in 2009. It\u2019s also a number used by Japanese driver Takuma Sato.\u201d<\/p>\n 10 \u2013 From Kamui Kobayashi to Pierre Gasly<\/p>\n From one popular Japanese driver to another, Kamui Kobayashi made his F1 debut with Toyota back in 2009, sporting the number 10. So, it was no surprise when he chose to return to that number in 2014 when he drove for Caterham.<\/p>\n Alpine<\/a>\u2019s Pierre Gasly<\/a> brought the number 10 back when he joined Torro Rosso in 2017. Like many of the drivers, Gasly also chose a number from his junior days, but he also uses it as a tribute to one of the great French footballers.<\/p>\n \u201cI raced with that number in 2013 when I became Formula Renault European champion,” said Gasly. “I was a big fan \u2013 I am still a big fan \u2013 of Zinedine Zidane, who was number 10 for the national French team.”<\/p>\n 30 \u2013 From Jolyon Palmer to Liam Lawson<\/p>\n For Jolyon Palmer, when he joined the grid in 2016, the number 30 already felt familiar to him. During his 2015 FP1 practice sessions, test driver Palmer was assigned the number 30, and decided to stick with the number for the remainder of his F1 career with Renault.<\/p>\n Liam Lawson<\/a>, however, felt a more sentimental pull towards the number 30 \u2013 even if he wasn\u2019t able to use it straight away. When he first stepped into the sport as a stand-in for the injured Ricciardo in 2023, the Kiwi was assigned the temporary number 40 by the FIA.<\/p>\n Once he was able to choose a permanent number from the United States Grand Prix later that year, Lawson returned to one that had followed him since childhood. The number 30 dates back to his karting days, when Lawson was inspired by a mentor who looked after him and ran the same number. It\u2019s a choice rooted in those early years, and one Lawson has carried with him ever since \u2013 very wholesome!<\/p>\n 12 \u2013 From Felipe Nasr to Kimi Antonelli<\/p>\n When Felipe Nasr joined the grid in 2015, he opted to run with number 12. While Nasr didn\u2019t publicly attach a specific reason to the choice, the number carried a clear resonance. It was the same number used by fellow countryman Ayrton Senna<\/a> when he won his maiden World Championship, making it a fitting link to one of the sport\u2019s most iconic figures and national heroes.<\/p>\n When he joined the 2025 grid, Mercedes\u2019 Kimi Antonelli<\/a> also wanted to pay tribute to the legendary Brazilian. \u201cIt is because of Ayrton,\u201d Antonelli said of the decision behind his number in an interview on Mercedes\u2019 official website. \u201cBut it is also the number I first used in single seaters.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom F4 I started to use 12 straight away and it worked pretty well with that number. Hopefully I can carry that on in F1. I was also 12 years old when I joined the Mercedes junior programme, so there is that too.\u201d The Italian also raced with 12 on his way to Italian and ADAC F4 titles in 2022.<\/p>\n 7 \u2013 From Kimi Raikkonen to Jack Doohan<\/p>\n When the time came for him to choose a number in 2014, the 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen<\/a> had a very meaningful reason for choosing the number 7. The Finn explained: \u201cWe had to pick up a number, and I just picked up that.\u201d Another classic \u2018Iceman\u2019 moment. He added: \u201cThere was a chance I took six because I won the Championship with it, but I knew Rosberg wanted it.\u201d<\/p>\n Raikkonen\u2019s choice may not have meant much to him, but the number 7 was the desired choice for Charles Leclerc<\/a> and Valtteri Bottas, who had to pivot to 16 and 77 instead!<\/p>\n Doohan took on the number 7 in 2025, keen to choose something meaningful for his Alpine car. \u201cI really wanted to go with a number that I raced with before,\u201d Doohan explained in an Alpine social post. The Aussie spent the 2019 season driving for Double R in Euroformula Open \u2013 a team funnily enough founded by Raikkonen and his manager, Steve Robertson. \u201cOne of my idols, a super special person and driver, Kimi Raikkonen, also drove with that number,\u201d Doohan added.<\/p>\n 2 \u2013 From Stoffel Vandoorne to Logan Sargeant<\/p>\n With number 1 being an exclusive offering to the World Champion, you\u2019d think the number 2 would be a popular choice, but only two drivers have opted for it. Stoffel Vandoorne used it when driving for McLaren in 2017 and 2018, with the Belgian explaining the number carried strong personal significance. \u201cI chose it because it was the first number I had when I started racing in single-seaters \u2013 in Formula 4 Eurocup 1.6, back in 2010,\u201d he told the McLaren website.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t choose the number, it was just given to me, but it was a good year for me \u2013 I had a lot of victories and a lot of podiums \u2013 so it has positive memories for me.\u201d As with many drivers, Vandoorne kept the number outside of F1, with his Formula E car donning the two as well.<\/p>\n Logan Sargeant brought the two back to the grid for his one and a half seasons with Williams. Once again, the American wanted to use the number from his successes in the junior categories. \u201cI used to run [number 2] in Formula Renault, and I had a pretty good season that year,\u201d said Sargeant. \u201cNumber 3 is my number, but that\u2019s taken [by Daniel Ricciardo] so I figured, why not take a winning number from the past and run with in F1?\u201d<\/p>\n 99 \u2013 From Adrian Sutil to Antonio Giovinazzi<\/p>\n Adrian Sutil\u2019s choice of 99 was unique. While he simply chose the highest number available, the 99 has only appeared once before in the World Championship \u2013 on Lee Wallard\u2019s victorious car at the 1951 Indianapolis 500. However, that race was not run to F1 regulations, so Sutil became the first driver to race with 99 on a Grand Prix car \u2013 a moment of history for the German.<\/p>\n Antonio Giovinazzi also chose the maximum possible number allowed under the rules. The former Alfa Romeo driver explained how he won his first race in a 2006 Italian karting championship with the number 99, with the only other numbers available being 13 and 17, both unlucky for Italians. He also enjoyed being the last on the entry lists, viewing it as a lucky charm.<\/p>\n 1 \u2013 From Sebastian Vettel to Max Verstappen to Lando Norris<\/p>\n The number 1 has been reserved exclusively for the reigning World Champion, but there is no obligation to do so, and the driver\u2019s normal number is reserved throughout their time with the World Champion\u2019s number. Vettel raced with it after winning his final title in 2013, before reverting back to the number 5 for the rest of his career.<\/p>\n Hamilton famously chose to stick with his 44, a nod to his first go-kart, throughout his world titles post-2014, a number that has since become inseparable from his identity in and out of the sport. However, the Brit did run the number 1 on his W09 Mercedes for the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix<\/a> as a one-off.<\/p>\n