Since the start of the

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

season, drivers have to choose an available starting number before entering their first

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

. Drivers carry this number throughout their Formula One career. The FIA have also issued temporary numbers to drivers that are exceptions to this rule, for example if a driver withdraws from a race and a reserve driver takes their place then they receive a team-allocated number, this is also the case of free-practice-only drivers. Some examples of those numbers are 36 (used by

Antonio Giovinazzi Antonio Maria Giovinazzi (; born 14 December 1993) is an Italian racing driver who currently serves as the reserve driver for Scuderia Ferrari, Haas and Alfa Romeo Racing. He was the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship runner-up and race ...

in two races), 40 (used by

Paul di Resta Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve driver ...

in one race), 45 (used by

André Lotterer André Lotterer (born 19 November 1981) is a German professional racing driver currently racing for Avalanche Andretti Formula E in the FIA Formula E Championship. He is best known for his success in endurance racing with the works Audi team, ...

and

Nyck de Vries Hendrik Johannes Nicasius "Nyck" de Vries (; born 6 February 1995) is a Dutch racing driver who is currently serving as the reserve driver for the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team. He is confirmed to be driving full-time in Formula 1 at Scuderia ...

in one race each), 46 (used by

Will Stevens William Stevens (born 28 June 1991) is a British racing driver, who formerly competed in Formula One, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Toyota Racing Series and the British Formula Renault Championships. In Formula One, he made his debut at the 2 ...

in one race), 47 (used by

Stoffel Vandoorne Stoffel Vandoorne (born 26 March 1992) is a Belgian professional racing driver who is currently racing for Dragon Racing in Formula E. He had previously competed in Formula One for McLaren from 2016 to 2018. He is currently a test driver of M ...

in one race) and 51 (used by

Pietro Fittipaldi Pietro Fittipaldi da Cruz (born 25 June 1996) is a Brazilian-American racing driver, the grandson of two-time Formula One world champion Emerson Fittipaldi and brother of racing driver Enzo Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi is racing in European Le Mans ...

in two races). A permanent number can only be reallocated if the driver associated with that number has not participated in a race for two entire consecutive seasons; for example, a driver picking their number for can not choose numbers which were last used in or , unless the number was issued temporarily by the FIA. For instance,

Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...

's number 22 would have been available for re-allocation in 2019 after his departure from full-time racing in 2016, but an appearance in the

2017 Monaco Grand Prix The 2017 Monaco Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2017) was a Formula One motor race held on 28 May 2017 at the Circuit de Monaco, a street circuit that runs through the Principality of Monaco. It was the sixth ...

replacing

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...

(who was participating in the

2017 Indianapolis 500 The 2017 Indianapolis 500 (branded as the 101st Running of the Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil for sponsorship reasons) was a Verizon IndyCar Series race held on Sunday May 28, 2017, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway ...

on that weekend instead), meant that his number could not be reassigned until 2020 at the earliest.

Yuki Tsunoda Yuki Tsunoda ( Japanese: 角田裕毅, ''Tsunoda Yūki'', ; born 11 May 2000) is a Japanese racing driver who is racing for Scuderia AlphaTauri in Formula One. Supported by Honda since 2016 through the , he was the 2018 Japanese F4 champion ...

subsequently picked that number (22) for the

2021 Formula One World Championship The 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the ...

. The reigning Formula One World Drivers' Champion can elect to use their allocated permanent number or car number 1 during the year following their title. The first driver to exercise that right under the new regulations was

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...

in 2014. The number then went unused for seven seasons, with

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...

keeping his permanent number 44 after his title wins in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, and

Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...

retiring after his championship win in 2016.

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch Auto racing, racing driver and the 2021 Formula One World Championship, 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Championship, 2022 Formula One World Champion. He Formula One drivers ...

is using number 1 in 2022 and 2023 after his titles in 2021 and 2022. The number 17 was used by

Jules Bianchi Jules Lucien André Bianchi (; 3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French motor racing driver who drove for the Marussia F1 Team in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, GP2 and Form ...

in 2014 before his crash at the

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix ( ja, 日本グランプリ, Nihon-guranpuri) is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One, Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the ...

. Following his death, the number was retired as a mark of respect.

Formula One driver numbers

The following lists all Formula One driver numbers which were claimed as career numbers since the season.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Numbers Formula One-related lists