Max Verstappen has revealed that he will be using a completely different racing number in the 2026 Formula 1 season.
Verstappen had been running the number one on his Red Bull since securing his maiden World Championship in 2021.
However, the Dutchman’s grip on the crown was relinquished this season, with Lando Norris coming out on top in Abu Dhabi.
Verstappen had revealed in advance that he was considering not going back to the 33 he had raced with between 2015 and 2021.
“It won’t be number ’33’,” Verstappen has now told Viaplay.
In a 2021 YouTube video from F1, Verstappen explained the reasoning behind racing with ’33.’ The Dutchman emphasised that ‘3’ was always his racing number growing up.
However, when he made his debut, his good friend and ex-team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo, already occupied the number. Therefore, he added another 3 and got the infamous ‘MV33’.
“My favourite number has always been ‘3’, apart from number ‘1’,” Verstappen explained.
“’33’ was always fine, but I prefer a single 3 to two 3s. I’ve always said it represented double happiness, but of course, I’ve already had my luck in F1.”
But with Ricciardo having since retired, Verstappen appears to have received the green light from the FIA to change to the original number that he had wanted.
“We can now switch. It will be number ‘3’.”
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