Lewis Hamilton insists he’s not bothered about using the much coveted number one on his car this season after describing it as “irrelevant”.
The Briton, who has the right to use the number on his car after winning the championship, has chosen to continue using the number he picked as his permanent race number – 44.
“Everyone can use number one when they win the championship but it’s irrelevant for me,” he said on Saturday evening in Barcelona.
“44 means more to me than number one,” he added. “It doesn’t mean I’m not number one. 44 is my family number. It’s the number I had when I first started racing. I won my first championship with 44. It means something to me.”
Sebastian Vettel, who’s permanent race number is five, chose to race with the number one last season. But Hamilton’s decision means the grid won’t feature the champions number for the first time in 20 years.
“The number one itself, Vettel’s had it, Schumacher’s had it, all the champions have had it. None of them had 44. 44 is mine.”
