There is no secret that Lewis Hamilton is arguably the best F1 driver of all time. After all, he has won a record-equaling seven world championships and has broken almost every other record in the sport. Since the 39-year-old has been at the top so often, he has had the opportunity to have #1 on his car just like Max Verstappen has at the moment. However, Hamilton once gave an interesting reason behind never taking the route that the Dutchman took back in 2022.
When asked once if he considers himself a target, Hamilton replied,
“Naturally, I am a target. But my race number when I was eight years old was number 44. So, even though I am number one and I have been for the last couple of years and I should have number one on my car, I keep 44 in there. So every year, I feel like I am starting on a clean slate and no one’s champion. But I want to be the champion“.
Hamilton would have had six opportunities to choose car number one ever since this rule was introduced in 2014. As per the rule, only the world champion from the previous season has the opportunity to choose number one for their car.
Hence, with Hamilton winning the title in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, he could have chose car #1 after each of these campaigns. Sebastian Vettel was the first driver to take advantage of the rule when he selected number one for the 2014 season, having won the title in 2013.
Max Verstappen is the latest driver to choose number one after he won the title in 2021. He stated that he has no plans of relinquishing this number until and unless he loses the title. His simple reason was that it’s a privilege for him to drive with that number. As for Hamilton, it seems clear that he will continue to choose 44 even if he wins another title.
Why did Lewis Hamilton choose 44?
Considering how long Lewis Hamilton has used 44 for his car, he has seemingly become synonymous with the number. He once revealed the special reason behind him selecting this number.
While speaking at the 2019 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, Hamilton stated that his car number helps him pay tribute to his father, Anthony. The 39-year-old stated that this is because, the registration number of one of his father’s cars was F44.
When he sees this number, Hamilton revealed that it reminds him of his humble beginnings and that it pushes him to “rise to the challenge(s)“. However, it is pertinent to note that there was a time when Hamilton also used number one for his car.
After he won the 2008 title with McLaren, Hamilton chose one for the 2009 season. However, as per Talk Sport, he stated that it did not look good on his car and that “44 looks better“.
A lot of F1 drivers are attached to their numbers, and don’t look forward to changing it anytime in their F1 career. Similarly, Hamilton has his own reasons behind never taking the route Max Verstappen did in 2022.
