Max Verstappen won the 2023 Hungarian GP, which was his seventh consecutive race win in F1 this season. It takes his total win tally to 44, but the Red Bull ace is not happy to be stuck on the number for very long, seemingly because of its close association with his rival, Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen and Hamilton went toe to toe for the pole position ahead of Sunday’s race in Hungaroring. When Verstappen crossed the finish line during his final Q3 run, most people thought it would result in yet another P1 start for him. Much to everyone’s surprise, Hamilton outjumped him, by just 0,003 seconds to take the pole.
Verstappen, however, seemed incredibly calm ahead of the race at the Hungaroring. The RB19 was still the faster car, and when the lights went out, Verstappen overtook Hamilton in the first corner itself. For the rest of the race, the 25-year-old was nowhere to be seen, building a gap greater than 30 seconds It resulted in his 44th race win, as he etches towards yet another world championship win. Nevertheless, he didn’t pass out on an opportunity to take a dig at Hamilton in the post-race press conference.
Max Verstappen is desperate to get rid of the number 44
The number 44 is closely associated with Hamilton, because it has been his car’s number throughout his career. Now that Verstappen has 44 race wins, he made a reference to Hamilton after the race in Hungary. In the post-race press conference, a reporter asked the Dutch driver, what more he is looking to achieve for the rest of the season.
To this, Verstappen replied, ”Hopefully I don’t stay on 44. That would be terrible! I need to get to 45 quickly!”
Verstappen followed this with laughter, which suggests that he was joking. While he didn’t take Hamilton’s name directly, a lot of fans on social media seem to think that it was Hamilton he was referring to.
All racing drivers have attachments to their respective numbers. While Verstappen used to have 33 on his car before changing it to 1 after winning the world title, Hamilton has stuck to number 44 throughout.
Why does Lewis Hamilton use number 44?
Today, it will be really surprising to imagine Hamilton driving a car which doesn’t have the number 44 on it. Thankfully for his fans, the seven-time world champion has a deep history with the number, and will likely never change it.
Hamilton chose 44 as a child, because of his father Anthony. In an interview with Sky Sports, he said, “My dad chose number 44. 44 was on my dad’s car. He has a Vauxhall Cavalier and the number plate had 44 in it. So, he chose number 44.”
When a driver wins the world championship, they are allowed to change their number to 1. Hamilton could have followed this seven times, owing to his seven title victories. Still, he decided to stick to his roots, and use the number that has been a constant in his career.
