Lando Norris just won his first world championship by two points. Now he’s exercising his champion’s privilege by claiming the number 1. Because nothing says “I’ve arrived” quite like taking the race number that Max Verstappen can no longer use after losing after four consecutive titles to your first one, does it?
The McLaren driver confirmed he’ll run number 1 on his car throughout 2026. That means shelving his familiar number 4 that’s adorned his machinery since 2019. Verstappen surrenders the digit he’s carried since 2022 after finishing second in Abu Dhabi. And F1 fans get to witness the symbolic changing of the guard, complete with new livery launches and corporate PR about tradition.
When Tradition Becomes Team Pride
Norris delivered the expected platitudes about honouring tradition and acknowledging his team’s efforts. Fair enough. The mechanics, engineers, and strategists who somehow managed to not completely bottle McLaren’s championship challenge deserve recognition.
“It’s tradition. It’s there for a reason. It’s there because you can go and try grab it and you can work hard to try and get it. All of us as a team that gets to have a role in McLaren, or my car, will get to wear that with pride.” – Lando Norris
He’s not wrong about the team aspect. Winning championships takes hundreds of people executing flawlessly across 24 race weekends. Well, nearly flawlessly. Let’s not mention Qatar’s safety car disaster or the multiple strategic decisions that nearly handed Verstappen an impossible comeback.
But the real kicker came when Norris pointed out that saying “we’re number one” sounds considerably better than “we’re number four.” Which is genuinely hilarious logic for someone who just spent seven seasons racing with number 4 whilst achieving precisely zero championships.
The Hamilton Exception Nobody’s Forgotten
Since F1 introduced permanent driver numbers in 2014, only one world champion has declined the number 1. Lewis Hamilton stuck with his number 44 through seven title wins. He ran it at Mercedes even when regulations permitted him the top spot.
Hamilton’s reasoning? He thought it would be “cool” for McLaren’s legacy that the team never carried number 1 during their championship years together. Which is either remarkably thoughtful or utterly bizarre depending on your perspective.
The seven-time champion did make exceptions. One-off Friday practice sessions in Abu Dhabi during 2018 and 2019 saw number 1 briefly appear on his Mercedes. Then he went straight back to 44 for the rest of the weekend. Because nothing confuses mechanics quite like swapping numbers mid-event for symbolic reasons.
Norris clearly doesn’t share Hamilton’s attachment to personal branding. Number 4 served him well whilst he was learning how to convert pole positions into victories. Now he’s champion, that digit can gather dust whilst number 1 takes centre stage for 2026’s regulatory revolution.
Verstappen’s Number Crisis: When Your Favourite Digit Belongs to Someone Else
Meanwhile, Verstappen faces the delightful problem of choosing which number to race with after losing his four-year grip on number 1. The obvious choice would be returning to number 33, which he used from 2015 through 2021 before his first championship.
Except Verstappen never actually wanted 33. His preferred number was always 3. Unfortunately, Daniel Ricciardo claimed that digit first, meaning the Dutchman settled for 33 as the next best option.
Now Ricciardo’s gone. Left F1 in 2024 after his Racing Bulls stint ended. Which theoretically frees up number 3 for someone else to claim. Except F1’s regulations require drivers to be absent for two full seasons before their number becomes available. Ricciardo’s only been gone one year.
“I will look at it over the winter. But my favourite number is three. We just need to see whether that is actually possible.” – Max Verstappen
That creates the utterly ridiculous scenario where Verstappen might need to personally contact his former teammate to request permission for using his race number. What a delightful conversation that’ll be. “Hey Daniel, remember when I comprehensively destroyed your championship hopes in 2018? Any chance I could borrow your number?”
When asked in Abu Dhabi which digit he’d choose for 2026, Verstappen delivered a wonderfully vague response: “Probably not 33, I’m still thinking about it.” Which means he’s either negotiating with Ricciardo or considering something completely different. Perhaps number 2? That would accurately reflect his finishing position in the championship.
The Michael Schumacher Record Nobody Mentions
Verstappen’s 92 consecutive races with number 1 from 2022 through Abu Dhabi 2025 beat Michael Schumacher’s 87-race streak from 2001 to 2005. That’s a properly impressive run that ended exactly how it began: with someone else taking the championship.
But Schumacher actually raced with number 1 for 120 grands prix total when you include his 1995 and 1996 campaigns. The German competed in an era when world champions were automatically assigned number 1 rather than given the choice. No philosophical debates about personal branding. No sticking with your permanent number for legacy reasons. You won the title, you got number 1, you moved on.
That system had its charm. Immediate visual confirmation of who’d won the previous year’s championship just by looking at the grid. Course, it also meant you couldn’t build merchandising empires around permanent driver numbers, which probably explains why F1 changed the rules in 2014.
What This Actually Means for 2026
Norris will arrive at pre-season testing in Barcelona carrying number 1 on his McLaren. New regulations. Fresh machinery. The weight of defending a championship he won by two points after nearly throwing it away multiple times.
Verstappen will show up with whichever number he eventually settles on. Probably still the fastest driver on the grid. Definitely still capable of winning races in machinery that shouldn’t be winning races. Already planning his comeback whilst Norris celebrates.
The number on the car doesn’t determine performance. It’s symbolic. Traditional. A visual representation of hierarchy that changes every time someone new wins the championship. But symbols matter in F1. They create narratives. They establish legacies. They give journalists something to write about during the off-season when actual racing news disappears.
So yes, Norris will race with number 1 in 2026. His mechanics will wear it with pride. His engineers will appreciate the acknowledgement. And Verstappen will spend the entire season plotting how to take it back whilst racing under whatever digit he eventually chooses.
That’s F1. Where even race numbers become battlegrounds for status and recognition. Where tradition matters right up until someone decides it doesn’t. Where the reigning champion gets to claim the number that symbolises their achievement and the sport’s heritage.
