Lando Norris has chosen which number he will race with in the 2026 F1 season, his first campaign as world champion after defeating Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri across the 2025 campaign.
The McLaren driver will temporarily shelve his regular number 4 in order to assume the number 1 from the Red Bull driver, who finished second in the standings.
Verstappen raced with the number 1, which is reserved for the world champion, in 92 grands prix from the start of 2022 to the most recent race, in Abu Dhabi, where Norris was crowned.
Lewis Hamilton famously opted not to take the number 1 during his reign, instead preferring to keep his number 44 on the front of his Mercedes challengers.
Verstappen’s streak of holding the number 1 continuously was five rounds more than the 87 that Michael Schumacher, who had it adorn his Ferrari from the 2001 Australian Grand Prix until the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix, achieved.
However, the German driver held it for 120 grands prix in total, including the 1995 and 1996 F1 seasons.
Although, seven-time F1 drivers’ champion raced in an era when the title winner was automatically assigned the number 1 car.
