In the earlier decades of Formula 1, numbers were rather meaningless — simply based on the standings of the previous year's Constructors' Championship or assigned at some point by the event organizers. But as drivers begin getting more notoriety and fandom, numbers became increasingly more important, and in 2014, F1 introduced a rule that would make it easier to keep track and follow your favorite driver.
The new rule requires drivers to pick a number at the beginning of their F1 career, that is expected to follow them throughout the rest of it, unless of course, they win the World Drivers' Championship, where they have the option to sport the number one on the front of their car. Drivers are able to choose from numbers 2 to 99, as long as it is not currently used by a driver already in F1, and it is not "frozen" — the FIA freezes a driver's number for two seasons following their departure from the series. After two seasons, the number is again available to drivers. Some that have been used at least twice since the rule was instated in 2014 are 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 21, 22, 28, 88, and 99.
There is one number not available for drivers to use, which is the number 17, having belonged to the late Jules Bianchi, which was retired in honor of the beloved driver.
As for the current 2025 F1 season drivers' number choices, how did they settle on their identifying numbers? Reasonings vary from rather sweet to surprising.
#1 : Max Verstappen
Max Verstappen seized the opportunity to take the number 1 immediately after winning his first world title, and the start of this 2025 season will be his fourth season donning it. However, if he were ever to lose his crown, the Dutchman would revert to number 33, chosen out of pure frustration, as his lucky number 3 was already taken by Daniel Ricciardo. So, he added a second 3 to it.
#4 : Lando Norris
Lando Norris is a big fan of Valentino Rossi. The MotoGP legend wore the number 46 — a number that Norris originally wanted to bear in F1 before eventually changing his mind. He eventually landed on the number 4, which is the first digit of 46, but otherwise holds no particular significance.
#5 : Gabriel Bortoleto
The number 5 is a legendary number in F1 and the second most used for titles after number 1. Sebastian Vettel, four-time F1 world champion, donned the number through his career from 2015 to 2022. Taking into account the two-year freeze, it was finally available for 2025. While it has special meaning in that regard, the Brazilian also used it when he won the F3 title in 2023. It's also partly symbolic of the 85 he used in his karting days.
#6 : Isack Hadjar
The number 6 was used from 2014 to 2016 by Nico Rosberg and also from 2020 to 2022 by Nicholas Latifi, making it the first number to ever be used three times since 2014. Hadjar simply chose it because it was the number on the very first kart that was bought for him. Later on, he always preferred it whenever the choice was available.
#7 : Jack Doohan
Jack Doohan initially wanted to use the number 12, but settled for the number 7 because he had used it in racing before (in 2019). It's an added bonus that the number also once belonged to Kimi Raikkonen.
#10 : Pierre Gasly
A football fan, Pierre Gasly chose number 10 in tribute to Zinedine Zidane, who wears the iconic number 10 for the French national team. However, Gasly also used the number 10 during his victorious Formula Renault Eurocup 2.0 season in 2013.
#12 : Andrea Kimi Antonelli
Antonelli's number 12 was chosen because it once belonged to Ayrton Senna, who wore it between 1985 and 1988. The Italian has also used it in F4 and things have gone rather well with the number overall in his career thus far.
#14 : Fernando Alonso
Number 14 was a real obvious choice for Fernando Alonso: on July 14, 1996, at the age of 14, the two-time F1 World Champion won the karting title driving the number 14. Despite his two-year absence from the F1 paddock in 2019 and 2020, the Spaniard had no trouble reclaiming his number in 2021.
#16 : Charles Leclerc
Because of his October 16 birth date, one might believe that's where Charles Leclerc drew inspiration for choosing the number 16. Yet, the Ferrari driver really dreamed of using the lucky number 7 for his F1 career, which belonged to Kimi Raikkonen when he joined the F1 grid. Number 10 was the next number up for contention, but his friend Pierre Gasly had just taken it. As a last resort, Leclerc used some calculations and landed on number 16: "because 1 plus 6 equals 7."
#18 : Lance Stroll
Lance Stroll's choice was an easy one. The Canadian wore the number 18 for his titles in Formula 4 and the Toyota Racing Series. Also, being "a little superstitious" — he decided to stick with this number when he was recruited to F1, shortly after his 18th birthday.
#22 : Yuki Tsunoda
Yuki Tsunoda wanted to claim number 11, since it was the number he started his racing career with, but it was already assigned to Sergio Perez. The Japanese driver then doubled it to form number 22.
#23 : Alex Albon
Just like Lando Norris, Alex Albon is also a big fan of the great Valentino Rossi. But unlike the McLaren driver, the Thai driver didn’t choose the other half of 46; he simply divided it by two, hence the number 23!
#27 : Nico Hulkenberg
If we exclude number 1, number 27 is undoubtedly the most iconic and sought-after number in F1. Villeneuve, Senna, Prost, Alesi, Mansell, and Jones all wore it in the 1980s and 1990s. But for Hulkenberg, this choice was simply motivated by the sum of the numbers related to his birth date, 19/08.
#30 : Liam Lawson
During Lawson's temporary stint in 2013, he wore the number 40. But when his return became permanent and intentional), he decided on the number 30 -- a number he has raced with since he was eight years old. The number actually belonged to a close friend and hero who also donned that number when they raced.
#31 : Esteban Ocon
Leave it to fond memories, Esteban Ocon won the French karting championship in the Minimes category wearing the number 31 in 2007.
#44 : Lewis Hamilton
An eight-year-old Hamilton didn't know what number to use for his first karting race. Looking for inspiration, he saw his father's license plate, which started with F44. The rest is history!
#55 : Carlos Sainz
Carlos Sainz needed to be a bit creative in choosing his race number. The Spaniard initially set his sights on number 5 (already taken) before doubling it, with 55 representing, in his view, the two S's in his name: Carlo55ainz.
#63 : George Russell
The number 63, belonging to George Russell, is actually a family affair. His brother, Benjy Russell, raced with the same number in karting in the 2000s.
#81 : Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri was forced into his original number 11 at the start of his karting days, thanks to a rule to sport a two-digit number on his kart, and the store providing the numbers only have 1s to choose from. With the 11 number already in use, it eventually changed 81 — which he has used ever since.
#87 : Oliver Bearman
Oliver Bearman's number 87 choice is a combination of his birth date (May 8) and his brother's birth date (August 7), which he has used throughout his driving career.
