2024 F1 Drivers Racing Numbers and the Stories Behind Them

When a race is underway, it is often difficult for fans to identify their favorite drivers. The team’s livery colors can help fans identify their drivers better by narrowing them down to two, it can still be confusing to misidentify one driver for his teammate. Hence, perhaps the best way for fans to identify their favorite drivers is by their racing numbers as each of them has a unique one.

Since most F1 drivers often stick to their racing numbers for a long time in the sport, they usually select them because of a special reason. Here is a look at the stories behind why drivers have selected their numbers.

Red Bull

Max Verstappen: 1

Verstappen perhaps has the simplest reason for why he selected #1. After all, only the reigning champions of the sport have the privilege of selecting this number, and hence, only a few can ever get the privilege of selecting it in their careers.

The Dutchman once even joked that he hopes he does not need to go back to his old number — 33. After deciding to opt for #1, he said back in 2022,

“How many times do you get the opportunity to swap? Number 1 is the best number so, for me. It was very straightforward to pick the number 1. I hope, of course, that number 33 doesn’t come back next year!”

Verstappen selected car #1 after he won his maiden world championship in 2021. With him retaining the title in both 2022 and 2023, he has retained it in 2024. However, that could change in 2025 if Verstappen fails to defend his championship this season.

Sergio Perez: 11

While Verstappen chose his car number to celebrate his success, his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez chose his because of the admiration he had for a soccer star — Ivan Zamorano. The Chilean wore the #11 jersey in his final season while playing for Perez’s favorite soccer team — Club America.

Ferrari

Charles Leclerc: 16

While both Red Bull drivers have a good reason for selecting their numbers, Leclerc believes his reasoning for choosing 16 is not that great. The Monegasque once said in an interview that he was keen on choosing either #7 or #10 but both were taken.

As a result, he said, “I finally ended up with number 16 because one plus six equals seven and I am born the 16th of October. So, not a very interesting story”.

Carlos Sainz: 55

Similar to Leclerc, Sainz also could not choose the number he wanted at first. The Spaniard wanted #5 when he first joined the sport but it was taken by four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.

Hence, Sainz decided to get creative and choose #55 as “One S is one five. The other S is another five. So, it’s a 55“.

Mercedes

Lewis Hamilton: 44

One driver who has perhaps gotten synonymous with his racing number is seven-time champion Hamilton. Since Hamilton has won six of his seven world titles while racing with #44 at Mercedes, he has gone on to establish a special connection with this number, which he has used to good use by creating a personal brand.

#44 is undoubtedly special for him as he has turned down the opportunity to race with #1 each time despite winning multiple championships during the turbo-hybrid era with Mercedes. And there is indeed a special reason why he chose this number, a reason that traces back to his childhood when he received his first kart.

Speaking of it, he explained, “My dad got this kart, rebuilt it and we had to enter our first race and my dad didn’t know what number to use. And on the number plate of his car was F44”. Hamilton said he used this number for several years during his junior career but could not use it when he first got into F1 as it was the team that decided the numbers for him.

However, when drivers were allowed to choose one number that they could use for the rest of their careers back in 2014, he did not think twice and decided to go back to “where it all started”.

George Russell: 63

Similarly to Hamilton, Russell also chose his number because of a special connection it has with his family. Russell stated that he chose #63 as this was his brother’s number when he started karting at a local indoor kart center.

McLaren

Lando Norris: 4

Norris is another driver who did not get the opportunity to select his first choice number as he was keen on choosing either 11 or 31. However, unlike his good mate Sainz who chose his number by getting creative with it, Norris chose #4 simply because it fit nicely into his logo — LN4.

Oscar Piastri: 81

Similarly to Hamilton, Piastri also chose #81 because this was his karting number back in the day.

Alpine

Esteban Ocon: 31

Like most other drivers, Ocon also chose his car number because he had the same number during his junior years. The Frenchman decided to select #31 as this number reminds him of the most successful year he had during his junior career.

“In 2007, that year when I won the [Championnat de France karting] championship, I had the number 31,” said Ocon. It is for the same reason that Ocon plans to race with #31 for the rest of his career.

Pierre Gasly: 10

Similarly to his Alpine teammate Ocon, Gasly also decided his car number because of the success he had with it during his junior career. However, unlike Ocon, Gasly also decided to select the number 10 for another reason and that is to pay tribute to one of France’s beloved soccer stars — Zinedine Zidane.

Speaking of it, Gasly said, “I raced with that number in 2013 when I became Formula Renault European champion”. He further added, “I was a big fan. I am still a big fan of Zinedine Zidane, who was number 10 for the national French team”.

Sauber

Valtteri Bottas: 77

Bottas’ reasoning for choosing his car number is very similar to that of Norris. The Finnish star stated that he planned to use his car #77 for personal branding even though he has never done so yet.

“There was a bit of plan that we could try ‘Val77eri Bo77as’, so that instead of a ‘T’ you could use a seven for some designs. But I never really used it anyway,” he said.

Zhou Guanyu: 24

It seems that paying a tribute to their sporting idol is one of the main reasons why drivers have selected their car number and it seems that Zhou is no different. The Chinese driver selected #24 to pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant.

“Kobe Bryant was a big inspiration to me when I was more interested in basketball than motorsports,” Zhou revealed. “What impressed me most was his work ethic. Even though he was considered the best player of his era, he worked tirelessly on himself”.

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso: 14

Alonso is yet another driver who chose his racing number because it reminds him of his karting days. However, for him, it perhaps holds the greatest meaning because of a remarkable coincidence that occurred that led him to choose this number.

“When I was 14 years old, the 14th of July, and with the go-kart number 14, I was world champion. From that moment I had no doubt that 14 is my number,” he said.

Lance Stroll: 18

Similarly to his Aston Martin teammate Alonso and most other drivers on the current grid, Stroll also chose his racing number because of his junior career success. Another reason he decided to choose #18 is because he claims he is a “bit superstitious” and so is not keen to change.

RB

Yuki Tsunoda: 22

With Perez choosing #11, Tsunoda was forced to choose another racing number. Hence, he decided to go with #22 as he simply “doubled it”.

Another reason why he decided to choose #22 is because this is the same car number Jenson Button used, a driver who Tsunoda has a huge amount of respect for. Moreover, fellow Japanese driver Takuma Sato also raced with #22.

Liam Lawson: 30

After choosing #40 for his short cameo last year, Lawson has decided to move to #30 for this season as this is the number he used during his karting days. Fans got a glimpse of his new car number when he took his car out on the track for the first time during FP1 of the United States GP, in what was his debut as a permanent driver on the grid.

Haas

Kevin Magnussen: 20 and Nico Hulkenberg: 27

Both Haas drivers have simply selected their numbers as this is what they used early on in their careers. Magnussen races with #20 as he won the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series title with the same car number. Similarly, Hulkenberg races with #27 as this is the number he used during his Force India and Renault days.

Williams

Alex Albon: 23

Similarly to Zhou, Albon also chose his number to pay tribute to two famous NBA legends — LeBron James and Michael Jordan. Both used #23.

Franco Colapinto: 43

Colapinto chose #43 as he has used this car number for all the success he has enjoyed from his karting days. The Argentine not only won the 2018 Argentine Senior Championship but also the Spanish F4 title in 2019 while using this racing number.