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Formula One |
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In Formula One, each car is numbered. Since the inaugural Formula One World Championship in 1950, several numbering systems have been used. This list covers the numbers used by drivers since the start of the 2014 Formula One season, when drivers have been allowed to choose a number that they would carry throughout their career. [1]
From 1950 to 1973, driver numbers were allocated by the organisers of each event, with no consistent method deployed across events. [2] In 1974 a consistent race-to-race numbering system was first implemented in Formula One, based on the 1973 Constructors' Championship results. These assigned numbers were supposed to stay with their teams as long as they were part of Formula 1 or until they ran the reigning World Drivers' Champion, in which case they would swap numbers with the team previously running numbers 1 and 2. In the event of the drivers' champion not returning, no swap would take place, and number 0 would be used instead of 1 – this only occurred in 1993 and 1994 with Damon Hill. A little over two decades later, in 1995, the system was changed again. The numbers would change every year, as the previous season's Constructors' Championship standings would be used to determine the order from numbers 3 and 4 downwards, with the team of the World Drivers' Champion still getting numbers 1 and 2. In 2014, it was decided to introduce the current system, where each driver gets to choose a permanent number. [3]
Drivers were initially allowed to choose any number from 0 through 99, with the exclusion of 1 which is reserved for the World Drivers' Champion. The number 17 was retired in 2015 as a mark of respect to Jules Bianchi, who suffered a fatal crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix while carrying the number. [4]
A permanent number can only be reallocated if the driver associated with that number has not participated in a race for two entire consecutive seasons; [5] for example, a driver picking their number for 2024 can not choose numbers which were last used in 2022 or 2023, unless the number was issued temporarily by the FIA. For instance, Jenson Button's number 22 would have been available for re-allocation in 2019 after his departure from full-time racing in 2016, but an appearance in the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix replacing Fernando Alonso (who was participating in the 2017 Indianapolis 500 on that weekend instead), meant that his number could not be reassigned until 2020 at the earliest. Yuki Tsunoda subsequently picked that number (22) for the 2021 Formula One World Championship.
The following lists all Formula One driver numbers which were claimed as permanent career numbers since the 2014 season.
The FIA have also issued temporary numbers to drivers that are exceptions to the career numbers rule; for example, if a driver withdraws from a race and a reserve driver takes their place, they receive a team-allocated number. This is also the case for free-practice–only drivers. Some examples of those numbers are 36 (used by Antonio Giovinazzi in two races), 38 (used by Oliver Bearman in one race), 39 (used by Brendon Hartley in one race), 40 (used by Paul di Resta in one race and Liam Lawson in five), 45 (used by André Lotterer and Nyck de Vries in one race each), 46 (used by Will Stevens in one race), 47 (used by Stoffel Vandoorne in one race), 50 (used by Oliver Bearman in two races) and 51 (used by Pietro Fittipaldi in two races). The number 42 was entered twice for Alexander Rossi in 2014, but not for the main Grand Prix races: once for a practice session during the Belgian Grand Prix where he was supposed to replace Max Chilton before his team (Marussia) made a u-turn and reinstated Chilton; and once for the 2014 Russian Grand Prix as substitute for the then-gravely injured Jules Bianchi, but his team ultimately chose not to run a second car alongside Chilton.
The number 1 is reserved for the previous year's World Drivers' Champion, although it is not mandatory for the driver to run the number. The first driver to exercise the right to run the number 1 under the new regulations was Sebastian Vettel in 2014. The number then went unused for seven seasons, with Lewis Hamilton keeping his permanent number 44 after his title wins in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and Nico Rosberg retiring after his championship win in 2016. Despite Hamilton not using it full-time, he received permission to display the number 1 on the nose of his car during Friday practice at the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. However, his car was officially entered under his usual number 44, which remained visible on the engine cover. [22] Max Verstappen has used number 1 since 2022, after his titles in 2021, 2022 and 2023. [23]
Driver | Team | First used | Last used |
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Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing | 2014 | 2014 |
Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing | 2022 | 2024 |
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The 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 71st season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 68th Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which is recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Teams and drivers competed in twenty Grands Prix—starting in Australia on 26 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 26 November—for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships.
The 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 68th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 65th Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The season commenced in Australia on 16 March and concluded in Abu Dhabi on 23 November. In the nineteen Grands Prix of the season, a total of eleven teams and twenty-four drivers competed for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships. The season was the first Formula One season since 1994 to see an accident with fatal consequences as Jules Bianchi died on 17 July 2015 after spending nine months in a coma following a crash at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.
The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars and the 69th running of the Formula One World Championship. Formula One is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Drivers and teams competed in twenty-one Grands Prix for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championship titles.
The 2019 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars which marked the 70th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Starting in March and ending in December, the championship was contested over twenty-one Grands Prix. Drivers competed for the title of World Drivers' Champion, and teams for the title of World Constructors' Champion. The 2019 championship also saw the running of the 1000th World Championship race, the 2019 Chinese Grand Prix.
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The 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 71st running of the Formula One World Championship. It marked the 70th anniversary of the first Formula One World Drivers' Championship. The championship was recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Drivers and teams competed for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively.
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