Max Verstappen confirmed that he would race with the third number on his Formula 1 car in the 2026 season. Verstappen had driven with the first number on his car over the last four seasons, having been the world champion during that time. Lando Norris is set to take that honour after winning his maiden drivers title in 2026.
Norris, who confirmed this to Sky Sports F1 at the beginning of this month, said that he’ll follow Verstappen.
Verstappen, the world champion of 2015-2021, raced for Toro Rosso with number 33 and Red Bull between 2015-2021.
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Sky Sports’ Craig Slater talks to Lando Norris, the newly-crowned world champion after his 2025 title win
Previously, drivers were required to keep the same number for their entire F1 career. However, a recent rule change allows them to switch numbers if they win a championship.
During an exclusive interview with Viaplay Verstappen revealed: “It’s not going to be 33.” Except for the number one, my favorite number has always be three. Now we can swap it so that number three will be the new favourite.
“Number 33 has always been fine to me, but I like the number one better than two.” I used to say that number 33 represented double luck. But I’ve already experienced my luck in Formula 1.
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Max Verstappen’s reaction to Lando Norris winning the World Drivers Championship with two points.
Sky Sports will broadcast every race in the 2026 F1 championship, beginning with the Australian Grand Prix on March 6-8. Sky Sports NOW is a no-contract service that lets you cancel at any time.
2025-12-18 09:40:00
