F1 driver numbers: Which numbers will the drivers be using in 2026 and why?

For some, F1 driver numbers are just numbers, but to others – and many of the drivers themselves – they are much more than that.

As we welcome a rookie in Arvid Lindblad to the grid this time around, let us take a look at the full list of F1 2026 driver numbers…

F1 driver numbers: Which drivers use which number on the 2026 grid?

Driver	Team	Race number
Lando Norris	McLaren	1
Max Verstappen	Red Bull	3
Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	5
Isack Hadjar	Red Bull	6
Pierre Gasly	Alpine	10
Sergio Perez	Cadillac	11
Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	12
Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	14
Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	16
Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	18
Alex Albon	Williams	23
Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	27
Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	30
Esteban Ocon	Haas	31
Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	41
Franco Colapinto	Alpine	43
Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	44
Carlos Sainz	Williams	55
George Russell	Mercedes	63
Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	77
Oscar Piastri	McLaren	81
Oliver Bearman	Haas	87

How are F1 driver numbers decided?

After race numbers were dictated by the previous year’s Constructors’ Championship, the FIA changed its rules in 2014 to allow drivers to choose their own permanent race number between 2 and 99.

Previously, that number would accompany them for the entirety of their Formula 1 career. A tweak was signed off ahead of the 2026 campaign though, allowing drivers to change their assigned number if they wished.

A key exception which exists in the rulebook is the number 1, which is reserved solely for the reigning World Champion – and as of this 2014 rule change, it is up to that driver as to whether or not to use it.

Max Verstappen opted to run the number 1 on his car as champion, while Lewis Hamilton chose to keep the number 44 on his car while he was the title-holder, but ran with number 1 in 2009 after his first title.

After winning his first World Championship in 2025, Lando Norris chose to use ‘1’ on his McLaren for the 2026 season.

If a driver’s desired number is unavailable at the time they enter the grid, they have to pick their second choice, or third if their second is unavailable, and so on.

Which F1 driver numbers are currently unavailable for new drivers?

FIA rules say that a number must be out of use for two full seasons before it can be made available again, to allow appropriate time for a driver to either come out of retirement or regain their seat.

This means for drivers who lose their seats mid-season, their numbers will be reserved for two full championships afterwards rather than two calendar years from their last race.

Interestingly, Max Verstappen’s swap to the number ‘3’ for 2026 – after the conclusion of his championship reign – saw him take Daniel Ricciardo’s old number, with the Honey Badger’s blessing in retirement.

Ricciardo’s number ‘3’ was due to be unavailable until 2027.

’21’, previously used by Nyck de Vries, is back on the market from 2026.

Here is a list of the F1 driver numbers unavailable as it stands, and when they will become available again:

2 [Logan Sargeant] – 2027

20 [Kevin Magnussen] – 2027

22 [Yuki Tsunoda] – 2028

24 [Zhou Guanyu] – 2027

7 [Jack Doohan] – 2028

The only number unavailable for use for any driver at any time is the number 17, with the FIA having retired it as a mark of respect for Jules Bianchi, after his tragic passing following his injuries sustained at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

Temporary numbers for drivers competing for stand-in races, such as Oliver Bearman racing using 38 and 50 in Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan and Brazil 2024, and Liam Lawson using number 40 for five races in 2023, are not removed from use, because they were not drivers permanently contracted to those seats at that time – and these numbers were randomly issued by the FIA.

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Why are there stories behind F1 driver numbers?

For many drivers, they feel a personal connection to their race number because they raced with it from an early age – and they wanted to bring it with them to Formula 1.

A significant portion of the grid have used their race numbers since their karting days, others picked numbers for marketing reasons, while some could not get their first choices at all. Let’s take a look.

1 Lando Norris, McLaren

Lando Norris admitted two of his numbers from his early days in racing, 11 and 31, were already taken when he arrived in Formula 1 by Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon – so he opted for number 4, in part at least, to make use of the marketing opportunities to come with it.

“Four was the best one in the end, mainly because it fitted very nicely into my logo,” he said.

However, ‘4’ is on the shelf for 2026, since Norris, as the reigning World Champion, seized his opportunity to race with the number ‘1’ on his McLaren.

3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull

As was his right as World Champion, Verstappen used number 1 for 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Prior to becoming World Champion in 2021, Verstappen used the number 33. But, instead of returning to that identity after being dethroned by Norris, Verstappen took on the number ‘3’.

That was the number he wanted all along, but when he arrived in Formula 1, it was taken by his future Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo.

‘3’ was still technically off limits for 2026, but, Verstappen’s official website confirmed that Ricciardo “cooperated” with the Dutchman’s switch to ‘3’, and as such, that number now belongs to Verstappen.

Verstappen confirmed that his “favourite number has always been 3, apart from number 1.”

5 Gabriel Bortoleto, Audi

Gabriel Bortoleto chose the number 5 for his Formula 1 career, which was last used by a four-time World Champion in Sebastian Vettel at the end of 2022.

He has had previous success with it, too, having won the 2022 Formula 3 title while using the #5 in his rookie season in that category. He confirmed that was the reason behind taking it, too, alongside its derivative from 85, which he used to use in karting.

6 Isack Hadjar, Red Bull

Isack Hadjar took on the number 6, last used by former Williams driver Nicholas Latifi in Formula 1. But, Hadjar’s connection with the number appears to go back a long way.

After his deal with Racing Bulls was announced for 2025, Hadjar posted a picture of himself during his karting days with, you guessed it, #6 on his kart.

10 Pierre Gasly, Alpine

Pierre Gasly picked the number 10 for his time in Formula 1 after racing it to great success in the Formula Renault European Championship in 2013.

Alongside that, he acknowledged he is also a huge fan of French footballing legend Zinedine Zidane – who wore the number 10 on his shirt while playing for France.

11 Sergio Perez, Cadillac

Back on the grid for 2026 with new team Cadillac, Perez will resume use of the number ’11’.

Perez uses ’11’ as a nod to childhood hero Ivan Zamorano, the footballer who wore that number on his shirt in his final season playing for Club America, the team which Perez supports.

12 Andrea Kimi Antonelli, Mercedes

Kimi Antonelli brought the number 12 back to the grid for the first time since Felipe Nasr in 2016 when he made his debut in the 2025 season, after his promotion to a Mercedes seat.

He confirmed it is related to an “idol” of his, Ayrton Senna, who raced with it from 1985 right through to his first title-winning campaign in 1988, but Antonelli also used it while racing to Italian F4 and Formula Regional European Championship glory in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

He told media including PlanetF1.com when his Mercedes drive was announced at Monza in 2024: “I have many numbers that I like, but 12 is a special one, also because of an idol.

“I’ve been using it since F4 so it always went well with 12, so no reason to change it for next year.”

14 Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin

A moment of fate connected Fernando Alonso with the number 14, going way back into his junior career, and when asked why he picked his race number, there’s no reason why he would have picked anything else.

He explained: “When I was 14 years old, the 14th of July, and with the go kart number 14, I was World Champion. From that moment I had no doubt that 14 is my number.”

You can’t say fairer than that.

16 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari

Charles Leclerc did not appear to get his first, or even his second choice of race number when he arrived in Formula 1.

He had hoped for #7, but that was taken by Kimi Raikkonen at the time, and his second choice was believed to be #10, but that was in use by Pierre Gasly, so he instead opted for #16 – as “one plus six is seven”. Simple enough.

18 Lance Stroll, Aston Martin

Lance Stroll admitted to being somewhat careful about his choice of number 18, as it was the number he ran while winning titles in Formula 3 and Formula 4.

“I’m a little bit superstitious, not very superstitious but little things like that are important to me,” he said.

“I’ve just stuck with it ever since and I don’t want to change.”

23 Alex Albon, Williams

A big Valentino Rossi fan, Alex Albon has raced with helmets inspired by ‘The Doctor’ at certain events since his arrival in Formula 1.

He also used the MotoGP legend’s famous number 46 in his karting days, but explained he did not want to do the same in Formula 1, writing on Twitter (now X) prior to his arrival on the grid: “I’ve always been a Rossi fan but since I can’t replace the doctor himself, I thought I’d have half of it.”

Albon’s birthday is also March 23rd, giving a personal connection to the number.

27 Nico Hulkenberg, Audi

The number 27 is famous in the Formula 1 history books, most notably through Gilles Villeneuve’s period of success with Ferrari, while Ayrton Senna also ran it to title glory with McLaren in the 1990 season.

Nico Hulkenberg, reportedly at least, has an altogether more personal reason behind running with it, however, as it’s the dates in his birthday added up (August 19th, or 19+8).

30 Liam Lawson, Racing Bulls

There are personal reasons behind Liam Lawson’s choice of #30, which he was able to use after running #40 while standing in for Daniel Ricciardo in 2023.

He revealed a mentor of his from his karting days ran with #30, and said ‘our number’ is now in Formula 1 as a result, revealing in a video for VCARB on Instagram: “[30] wasn’t actually the very first number I drove with, that was 18, but [in] my first year of go kart racing, I moved into a team, and there was a guy who looked after me, who became like my hero, my idol, when I was a kid in go karts, and he ran with number 30 – so I picked number 30 because of him.

“He taught me everything about go kart racing when I was younger and then basically I held that number all the way through until today. and I’ve told him as well that I’m bringing our number into Formula 1 and he’s ****ing stoked!”

31 Esteban Ocon, Haas

Like his former team-mates Gasly and Alonso, Esteban Ocon chose his number for Formula 1 after a particularly successful year while running with the number 31.

He took the Championnat de France title in the Minime category in karting in 2007 while using it, a year he regards as the best of his career while in the junior series, which prompted Ocon to choose #31 when he reached Formula 1.

41 Arvid Lindblad, Racing Bulls

Arvid Lindblad chose the number 41 to run in his time in Formula 1, having been announced as a Racing Bulls driver ahead of the 2026 season.

There had never been a #41 raced in Formula 1 before, and without an immediate number in mind, Lindblad confirmed he had a meeting with Red Bull at which potential options were brought up.

Having been presented with 41, 45 and 51, Lindblad opted for the first, with the 4 and 1 next to each other picked for its marketing potential, with the number bearing a slight resemblance to his initials, ‘AL’.

43 Franco Colapinto, Alpine

When Franco Colapinto made his Formula 1 debut with Williams, he opted for the No. 43 — a number he’s boasted for much of his career.

He took the Argentine Senior Championship in 2018 while karting with that number, before taking home the Spanish F4 title in 2019 and a third-place overall in the 2020 Toyota Racing Series — again, all with the No. 43. Fittingly, it was a number his father, Aníbal Colapinto, also used when he competed.

44 Lewis Hamilton, Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton famously drove his early karting races with the number 44, and when the chance came to choose his own race number, 44 was his choice.

He also explained there was more than one connection to the number, saying: “When I was eight, we got a really old go kart and it was owned by, like, five or six different families.

“It was from the back of the newspaper. My dad got this kart, rebuilt it and we had to enter our first race and my dad didn’t know what number to use. And on the number plate of his car was F44.”

55 Carlos Sainz, Williams

Like Norris, Sainz opted to make the most of the situation in front of him by turning the lack of availability of his preferred number, 5, taken by Sebastian Vettel when he arrived, into a marketing opportunity.

“One S is one five. The other S is another five. So, it’s a 55,” he explained.

“My favourite number is number five. Sebastian Vettel had the five, so I had to change.”

63 George Russell, Mercedes

George Russell races with the number 63 on his car as that seems to be the ‘family number’ among the Russells.

His older brother, Benjy, was a karting champion in his own right and ran with the number 63, and George kept it going in his junior racing career before eventually graduating to Formula 1.

77 Valtteri Bottas, Cadillac

Valtteri Bottas is bringing ’77’ back to Formula 1 as he partners Perez at Cadillac.

It was simply just a number which Bottas liked, and initially, he had some ‘Val77eri Bo77as’ marketing plans for it, but they did not materialise.

81 Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Like many on the grid, Oscar Piastri used the number 81 going back to his karting days – though he explained he had used the number 11 for his first races because the kart shop he went to at the time only had the number 1 in stock, and it had to be a one or two-digit number used.

He added on the In The Fast Lane podcast: “We entered, I think it was the Victorian state titles, and somebody had already entered as number 11.

“I don’t know what inspired me to pick 81 but I changed the first one for a number eight, and it stuck ever since. So, there you go!”

87 Oliver Bearman, Haas

Like Russell, there is a family connection behind Oliver Bearman’s choice of number 87 as he joined Formula 1 full-time in 2025.

He explained to media including PlanetF1.com when he was announced as a Haas driver: “It’s the number that I’ve raced since the beginning.

“It’s a number that my dad raced with because I’m born on the 8th of May and my brother on the 7th of August, so 87 was the number of choice and that will continue to be the case.”

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