Formula 1 has confirmed that Max Verstappen will drive No. 1 on his car next season, as is his right as world champion.
Verstappen said earlier this year that if he won the title, he would race with the number of the champion, and he has followed his words, which means that the number 1 for the first time since 2014, when Sebastian Vettel put it on his red had Taurus on the grid.
“How often do you have the opportunity to drive with No. 1? And it’s good for the goods too, so it’s wise to do that, ”Verstappen told reporters ahead of the Sao Paulo Grand Prix.
After winning the title in the turbo-hybrid era, Lewis Hamilton stuck to his dream number 44 and since Nico Rosberg retired immediately after his only World Cup in 2016, the German did not have the opportunity to take the number 1 on his car Start to go.
A new number will be on the F1 grid in 2022
On the car of the new world champion @ Max33Verstappen 1️⃣ # F1 pic.twitter.com/0DknUvpkGR
– Formula 1 (@ F1) December 14, 2021
Elsewhere, the official Formula 1 starter list for 2022 has been confirmed, with several changes being made from this year onwards.
Guanyu Zhou will be the only rookie on the grid for the next season and will start in his number 24 Alfa Romeo when he hits the track.
Upon his return to the starting grid, Alex Albon will pick up where he left off, using the number 23 he has used throughout his career so far, while the team moves of George Russell and Valtteri Bottas have been taken into account in the start confirmation.
There were also a few minor changes to the team name. Alfa Romeo Racing now officially bears its title sponsor in its name and becomes Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN for 2022.
Likewise, Haas will follow a similar path and be the Uralkali Haas F1 Team next year, with Nikita Mazepin’s father Dmitry being the team’s main sponsor.
Ferrari is doing the opposite, removing ‘Mission Winnow’ from their title, which means they will again simply be Scuderia Ferrari.
After Honda’s departure from the sport was confirmed, their name was also removed from the titles of Red Bull and AlphaTauri, and these teams are powered by the newly formed Red Bull Powertrains division.
The full list of Formula 1 starters for 2022:
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula 1 Team
44 – Lewis Hamilton
63 – George Russell
Red Bull Racing
1 – Max Verstappen
11 – Sergio Perez
Scuderia Ferrari
16 – Charles Leclerc
55 – Carlos Sainz
McLaren F1 team
3 – Daniel Ricciardo
4 – Lando Norris
Alpine F1 team
14 – Fernando Alonso
31 – Esteban Ocon
Scuderia AlphaTauri
10 – Pierre Gasly
22 – Yuki Tsunoda
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 team
5 – Sebastian Vettel
18 – Lance hike
Williams Racing
6 – Nicholas Latifi
23 – Alexander Albon
Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN
24 – Guanyu Zhou
77 – Valtteri Bottas
Uralkali Haas F1 Team
9 – Nikita Mazepin
47 – Mick Schumacher
