Max Verstappen has revealed his intention to change his driver number in 2026 from his assigned number 33, should his late Formula 1 title charge in the final races fall away.
With three races remaining in 2025, Verstappen can still win the Drivers’ Championship but needs a strong weekend in Las Vegas to close the 49-point gap to Lando Norris.
Should he fail to win the title, he will revert from the coveted number 1 to his designated number 33 for the first time since 2021, the season in which he won his maiden title.
The Dutchman plans to change from #33 to another number, currently allowed by regulations in place since 2014, requiring drivers to own a number for the duration of their F1 career.
Revealing he has aspirations to take former team-mate Daniel Ricciardo’s number #3, the FIA is mulling changes to the regulations to prevent drivers from mid-career number swaps.
That’s a very good question!” Verstappen told including Motorsport Week in Las Vegas when asked which number he would race with next season.
“I will look at it over the winter, but my favourite number is #3. We just need to see whether that is actually possible.”
A cheeky ‘marketing tool’ opportunity?
The FIA remained silent on any potential change to the regulations, neither confirming nor denying any prospective alterations to the rules following a meeting of the F1 commission.
“Changes to the regulation on permanent competition numbers for drivers, introduced for the 2014 season, were discussed. It was agreed that a proposal for drivers to change their numbers during their career would be permitted,” the governing body said in a statement.
However, #3 is not Verstappen’s first choice, admitting he had a more suggestive option in mind, but was talked out of it by his father Jos.
“I actually wanted #69, but my dad said ‘that’s not a good idea’”, he quipped.
“But that number always looks the same, no matter how you look at the car! #69 would be very good for the photos and marketing, and for the caps as well. It doesn’t matter how you wear them, it always stays #69. In that respect it would be a good marketing tool.
“I also like #27, but Nico already has that. I think #2 and #7 look really nice together in terms of shape. So #3 is my favourite number, but there are several numbers I find cool.”
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