Whereas initially used as a way of figuring out who was behind the wheel of every automobile, F1 driver numbers have turn into far more than that over time, with many gaining an iconic legacy within the sport.
The method of allocating a driver quantity has advanced throughout the championship’s historical past. Between 1950 and 1973, they had been assigned on a race-by-race foundation, however a extra constant system was introduced into impact in 1974 primarily based on the 1973 Groups’ Championship standings.
This initially meant that the successful driver’s group would run the numbers #1 and #2 even when the champion had left, a rule that was barely modified when it was determined that the title-holder might take the #1 with them ought to they select to change to a different outfit – for instance, Damon Hill sported this quantity in 1997 while racing for Arrows after taking the crown with Williams within the earlier marketing campaign.
There was additionally a growth in 1996 that resulted within the numbers altering yearly primarily based on the standings from the latest season. Beforehand, the assigned numbers given in 1974 would stay with every group completely until they claimed the championship, through which case they might swap with the earlier title-winners.
Since 2014, every driver has been in a position to choose their very own quantity which then stays with them. The quantity needs to be between #2 and #99, whereas numbers utilized by former drivers turn into out there for one more to make use of as soon as the earlier holder has not competed within the sport for 2 consecutive seasons.
Each earlier than the present system was applied and after, a number of driver numbers have developed a particular standing within the sport. As such, we’ve rounded up seven notably well-known numbers from F1 previous and current – and delved into the tales behind them…
#44
We begin with a quantity that is among the most well-known – and profitable – within the fashionable period of Method 1. When drivers had been in a position to choose their very own as of 2014, Lewis Hamilton opted for #44.
The story behind his selection stemmed again to the very early days of his profession, with the seven-time World Champion beforehand explaining: “After I was eight, we obtained a extremely outdated go-kart and it was owned by, like, 5 or 6 completely different households.
“It was from the again of the newspaper. My dad obtained this kart, rebuilt it and we needed to enter our first race and my dad didn’t know what quantity to make use of. And on the quantity plate of his automobile was F44. That’s the quantity we raced with for a few years.”
Hamilton added that the quantity has been “loyal” to him, and the statistics would definitely again this up by way of accolades. The #44 has adorned the Briton’s automobile throughout six of his seven title-winning campaigns, bringing him 83 of his 105 Grand Prix victories.
#5
Whereas #44 is synonymous with Hamilton, #5 has been carried by a number of well-known names on its method to turning into the second most profitable driver quantity in Method 1 historical past (extra on the quantity that beats it later on this checklist).
A complete of 9 Drivers’ titles have been earned within the #5 automobile, a triumphant run kickstarted by Emerson Fittipaldi when he claimed McLaren’s maiden crown in 1974. Championship glory with the quantity adopted for Mario Andretti (1978), Nelson Piquet (1981, 1983), Nigel Mansell (1992), Michael Schumacher (1994), Damon Hill (1996), Fernando Alonso (2005) and Sebastian Vettel (2010).
Whereas he took the #1 from 2011 by means of to 2014 – marking his back-to-back championships – Vettel chosen #5 as his quantity from 2015 onwards, with it beforehand bringing success throughout his junior profession in addition to being a nod to the well-known ‘Crimson 5’ that adorned Mansell’s automobile while racing for Williams.
Following his departure from the game on the finish of 2022, #5 was reserved for Vettel for an extra two seasons – however, having turn into out there to be used once more as of 2025, the quantity is now being sported by Kick Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.
#12
The quantity #12 has turn into a well-recognized sight in F1 once more this season, with Kimi Antonelli selecting it for his maiden marketing campaign as a Mercedes driver.
In addition to bringing him a number of titles while climbing the ranks in junior classes, Antonelli has admitted that his choice was primarily based on the truth that #12 was utilized by his idol Ayrton Senna through the early days of his personal Method 1 profession.
The three-time World Champion ran the quantity while racing for Lotus between 1985 and 1987, an period through which he claimed his first victories within the sport. Senna once more used #12 when he switched to McLaren in 1988, a season through which the group had been completely dominant and Senna clinched his debut World Championship.
By the way, #12 was additionally the quantity sported by Niki Lauda’s Ferrari through the Austrian’s personal maiden title marketing campaign in 1975.
#27
For a quantity with a very particular historical past within the sport, look no additional than #27. Having first gained prominence on the Williams of Alan Jones within the late Seventies – and his championship win in 1980 – it’s maybe most tremendously related to the legendary Gilles Villeneuve.
The Canadian racer might need solely pushed the #27 Ferrari for 19 Grands Prix – and actually took 4 of his six F1 wins with the aforementioned #12 – however it’s a quantity that has turn into tied to his legacy, a logo of his dazzling racecraft on the wheel of the Scuderia’s challenger.
Within the years after Villeneuve’s deadly accident on the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, #27 went on to be raced by the likes of Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and Jean Alesi throughout their very own stints with Ferrari. But it surely was on the nosecone of a McLaren that it skilled its second title, courtesy of Ayrton Senna in 1990.
These days the quantity is being utilized by Nico Hulkenberg, although the German’s purpose for selecting #27 isn’t essentially linked to its storied previous; the Kick Sauber driver merely added the day and month of his birthday – August 19 (08/19) – to make his choice.
#22
Now we arrive at a quantity that carries with it an intriguing historical past. Through the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, the #22 automobile typically represented a backmarker group; on condition that the allocation was primarily based on the earlier marketing campaign’s Groups’ Championship, the squad on the latter finish would subsequently obtain the upper numbers.
Nonetheless, when McLaren had been stripped of their constructor factors in 2007 owing to the ‘Spygate’ scandal, the Woking-based outfit ran #22 and #23 for the 2008 season, with the previous adorning the automobile of Lewis Hamilton as he entered into his sophomore yr.
What adopted was a surprising marketing campaign through which Hamilton clinched his debut World Championship, which means that the Briton would use #1 in 2009. This noticed #22 transfer over to the newly-formed Brawn GP outfit and the challenger raced by Jenson Button.
Towards the percentages, #22 once more skilled title success as Button and Brawn GP stormed to each championships in a fairytale end result that has gone down in F1 lore. Button went on to pick the quantity as his personal from 2014 onwards, whereas it’s now utilized by Yuki Tsunoda, who doubled his former karting variety of #11 on condition that this had already been taken in F1 by Sergio Perez.
#1
Probably the most profitable driver quantity in Method 1 historical past is – fittingly – #1, having collected 15 World Championships since its first in 1986.
On condition that it’s reserved for the reigning title-holder, the #1 has solely been utilized by champions; as such, the checklist of these to drive it to additional triumphs makes for spectacular studying. Alain Prost was the primary to clinch the championship utilizing the quantity in 1986, off the again of his maiden crown in 1985.
The #1 automobile once more skilled title glory in 1991 courtesy of Prost’s rival Ayrton Senna, a feat that was repeated by Michael Schumacher (1995) and Mika Hakkinen (1999) later within the decade as they claimed their very own consecutive successes.
Within the present century, the quantity has earned a whopping 11 additional World Championships due to Schumacher (2001-2004), Fernando Alonso (2006), Sebastian Vettel (2011-2013) and Max Verstappen (2022-2024). Verstappen continues to sport the #1 because the reigning champion, nevertheless it stays to be seen if he can maintain onto it for 2025.
It is usually price noting that the World Champion doesn’t have to make use of #1 in the event that they select, which means that there’s the possibility of it disappearing from the grid subsequent season ought to the winner want to make use of their very own choice; Lewis Hamilton, for instance, opted to stay with #44 throughout his personal title-winning streak.
#17
We conclude with a very poignant quantity – that being #17, which was utilized by the late Jules Bianchi throughout his Method 1 profession.
When he made his debut within the sport on the 2013 Australian Grand Prix, Bianchi was allotted #22 for his Marussia, the group have ended the 2012 season down in P11 of the Groups’ Championship.
With the system altering in 2014 to permit drivers to pick their very own numbers, the Frenchman began to make use of #17 for his sophomore season, occurring to memorably score points with a P9 result on the sixth spherical of the marketing campaign in Monaco.
Tragically, Bianchi suffered an accident on the rain-affected Japanese Grand Prix later that yr and handed away on account of his accidents on July 18, 2015.
Following his passing, it was confirmed that the quantity #17 can be retired as a tribute to Bianchi.
