In Formula 1, all drivers use a fixed start number. The championship introduced this concept in 2014 to increase the recognition of the drivers on the track for the fans. In previous years, the start numbers were awarded based on the final placement in the previous World Championship ranking.
Now only the world champion of the new season can decide to change his number: He receives the offer to replace the permanent number with the # 1. All other drivers have to stick to their chosen number.
For many drivers, there is a story behind every number they choose. It could be their lucky number or they could have special memories of the number. This article lists all the numbers for the 2022 Formula 1 season and the explanations behind them.
List of F1 driver numbers in 2022:
Will Max Verstappen drive with starting number 1 in 2022?
As the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen has the right to choose the number 1 for the Formula 1 season in 2022. Immediately after winning the championship in the final in Abu Dhabi, the Red Bull driver announced that he would change his usual # 33.
“I will indeed be driving the number 1,” he confirmed after winning the title. “You don’t often get the chance, maybe it’s my only chance. I think it’s nice. I’ll definitely stick it on the car.”
Earlier he said that because of the new merchandise line to be developed, it would also be interesting for marketing reasons.
In 2014 Sebastian Vettel was the last driver to use the # 1. In the following years the title went to Lewis Hamilton, who stuck to his # 44, or to Nico Rosberg. The German put his helmet on his head immediately after his world championship title and thus no driver could use the # 1 in 2017.
Why did Max Verstappen choose # 33?
In the years before his first world championship title, Max Verstappen drove with # 3 in Formula 1. The story behind this election is very simple: In his youth, the Dutchman had number 3 as a lucky number. He wanted to use it in Formula 1, but the number was already occupied by Daniel Ricciardo, so Verstappen then decided on # 33, “for double the luck”.
“I drove this number as a kid, so I thought I would enjoy using # 33 in Formula 1 as well,” he said on social media, accompanying a photo of an electric toy car he was walking through the garden the family drove.
At other times in his career he also drove with a # 3, in the Formula 3 European Championship the Dutchman drove as # 30 and on his debut for Toro Rosso he used the # 38.
F1 driver numbers for 2022 and the story behind their picks
McLaren F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo uses # 3. The smiling Australian was a big fan of American racing legend Dale Earnhardt, multiple NASCAR champion, in his youth. The American, who died on February 18, 2001, drove for a long time in the series with # 3 and Ricciardo chose the same number as a tribute. After winning the Italian Grand Prix in 2021, Ricciardo was rewarded with a ride in his idol’s NASCAR.
Lando Norris gave his McLaren the # 4 and explained, “The story is that there is no story. It goes well with the hashtag # L4ndo, but it’s not a number that I’ve used in all racing classes.”
A huge fan of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, Norris considered using his # 46 but said he didn’t want to be a “copycat” so he decided on the # 4.
Aston Martin F1 driver Sebastian Vettel has chosen # 5. The German had great success with this number in the past. He won the European Kart Championship in 2001 in the ICA Junior Class on a karting camp with the number 5. He later learned of the nickname from Formula 1 legend Nigel ‘Red Five’ Mansell. He also won his first Formula 1 title in a car with this number in 2010 with Red Bull. In addition, the Roman name for the number five is “V”, which in turn is the first letter of Vettel’s surname. “Those 5 kept coming back everywhere,” he said.
In the years in which he defended his world title, the German came out in first place.
Nicholas Latifi has been driving at # 6 since he entered Formula 1 in Williams. The number refers to his hometown Toronto, nicknamed “The Six”. The nickname was made famous in recent years by rapper Drake. The city is made up of six boroughs (Old Toronto, Scarborough, East York, North York, Etobicoke, and York) and the Toronto area code starts with a 6. Latifi also had a # 6 in three of its four Formula 2 seasons, though That was a coincidence, because in the junior single-seater classes the start numbers are still assigned according to the championship results of the previous season.
Nikita Mazepin uses # 9. The Haas F1 driver was born in 1999 and chose # 99 whenever possible at the start of his career. However, that number was already in the hands of Antonio Giovinazzi, forcing him to go for the single nine.
AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly has # 10. The French won the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup with this number in 2013 and is also a big fan of soccer player Zinedine Zidane, who played with the number 10 on the French team.
Sergio Perez uses the number # 11 on his car. The origin is not in motorsport, but in football. The Mexican is a huge Club America fan, especially former player Ivan Zamorano. “I liked the way Bam-Bam played, the way he scored. I became a fan of his and decided to race with that number. To this day, I’ve used # 11 everywhere, right down to my email -Address!” said Perez.
Alpine F1 driver Fernando Alonso uses # 14. On July 14, 1999, at the age of 14, he was # 14 world champion in karting. “From that moment on, I knew # 14 was my number,” he said.
Charles Leclerc starts with the # 16 in Formula 1. The Ferrari driver was born on October 16, 1997. His preference was initially for the lucky number seven, which, however, has already been adopted by Kimi Räikkönen. Next, Leclerc wanted # 10, which was already driven by his good friend Pierre Gasly. After doing some simple calculations, he decided on # 16: “Because one plus six is seven,” he explained.
Lance Stroll gave his Aston Martin the # 18. At the beginning of his career he won the Italian Formula 4 championship with this starting number. He also made his Formula 1 debut with Williams shortly after his 18th birthday. “A bit superstitious, but I like to hold on to the little things that are important to me. I don’t want to change them,” said the Canadian.
Alexander Albon is returning to Formula 1 this year after a break from the season. He has to stay at # 23, which he also used in the first phase of his F1 career. In the world of sports, this is an iconic number. Basketball players LeBron James and Michael Jordan played with this number, as did soccer player David Beckham for part of his career. Like his colleague Lando Norris, Albon is a big fan of Valentino Rossi. During his karting days, the British Thai drove his # 46, but opted for half of that number in F1.
Guanyu Zhou, the only rookie in the Formula 1 field in 2022, has chosen # 24. This number was last used by Timo Glock in 2012. The Chinese chose this number as a tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant, of whom he is a huge fan. Bryant played number 24 for the Lakers for the past few years.
Esteban Ocon uses # 31. With this number, the Alpine F1 driver won his first karting title in 2007. He still thinks this is one of the best years of his career. He also made his Formula 1 test debut in October 2014 for Lotus with the # 31.
Yuki Tsunoda chose # 22 for his F1 debut at AlphaTauri. In his early days in karting, the Japanese drove the number 11, which he also wanted to use in Formula 1, but this number is already occupied by Sergio Perez. Tsunoda simply doubled the number and landed at # 22.
Seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton drives with # 44. The Briton drove his first kart race with this number, but at the time did not know which starting number to choose, so he took the number from the license plate of his father’s car: F44.
With this number he laid the foundation for his successful career and therefore wanted to use it in Formula 1. Even in the years in which he was allowed to drive with the number 1 as world champion, the Briton stuck to his # 44.
Mick Schumacher landed at # 47 due to a “funny coincidence”. The Haas F1 driver, son of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, preferred numbers four and seven. However, these were already occupied by Lando Norris and Kimi Raikkonen. With # 4 he won the title of the Formula 3 European Championship in 2018, while his father Michael has seven F1 titles behind his name. “And if you add up all of our family’s birthdays, you get 47!” To complete the picture.
Carlos Sainz gave his Ferrari # 55. “The S of my first name is like a 5 and also the S of my last name, that results in # 55”. In addition, # 5 is his favorite number, but it was already taken by Sebastian Vettel. With this self-invented word game, he reached number 55.
George Russell uses # 63. “My brother used to drive the number 63 kart, so this has been our family number ever since,” he said. With a little creativity, 63 can also be read as GR, these are the initials of the newly appointed Mercedes driver. Others see it as GB, which stands for Great Britain.
Alfa Romeo newcomer Valtteri Bottas will start with # 77. Like several other drivers, the Finn wanted the lucky number seven. However, this number was already taken over by his compatriot Kimi Raikkonen. Bottas therefore chose # 77, which he cleverly attached to his personal merchandise items with the Bo77as logo.
Which start numbers cannot be used in Formula 1?
Formula 1 drivers cannot choose number 17. Jules Bianchi was using this number at the time of his serious accident in Suzuka in 2014. He later succumbed to his injuries in that accident. As a tribute, the F1 organization decided to withdraw this starting number.
How long is a driver entitled to an F1 starting number?
A driver who leaves Formula 1 can use his old number for up to two years in the event of a possible comeback. During this time, the number cannot be used by another driver. Fernando Alonso could come back after two seasons and choose the # 14 again, which is why Alexander Albon will drive with the # 23 again this year. If a driver comes back after a long absence, he has to choose a new start number.
