New number for Verstappen is a familiar one to Red Bull Racing
The new number is plenty familiar to Red Bull Racing fans
Max Verstappen will don the number of a former Red Bull Racing team-mate next season as he confirmed he will step away from his old racing digits.
After four years of carrying the #1 on the front of his car, the Dutchman will relinquish it next term as world champion Lando Norris will place it on his McLaren.
The current numbering system in Formula 1 sees drivers pick and commit to a preferred number to help make them more identifiable. The concept, which came in in 2014, had seen Verstappen race with 33 on his cars until his first world championship in 2021.
Given the option to return to his previous race number for 2026 though, Verstappen has instead opted for the number 3 - previously held by ex-Red Bull team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.
The Australian carried the number from his debut in the Tilbrook team in 2014 and beyond his departure, using it at Renault, McLaren and Racing Bulls before his departure from the sport last year.
Numbers are usually held in reserve for two years after a driver leaves the grid, meaning #3 should have been unavailable to Verstappen until September 2026, but approval from the F1 Commission and approval from Ricciardo has meant Verstappen has been able to take on the number going forward.
“It won't be number 33,” Verstappen said in his end-of-year interview with Viaplay. “My favourite number has always been 3, apart from number 1. We can now swap, so it’ll be number 3.
“Number 33 was always fine, but I just like one 3 better than two. I always said it represented double luck, but I've already had my luck in Formula 1.”
The number has only claimed a world championship on two previous occasions in F1’s 75-year history: in 1997 when Jacques Villeneuve won the crown for Williams, and in 2000 when Michael Schumacher won the first of five consecutive championships for Ferrari.