This is the race number Verstappen chose to drive with in 2025

Choosing a race number is a decision that drivers have to make before entering a Formula 1 season. Changing the number after that is not easy, though, since there are also numbers that have special rules attached to them. This is an overview of F1 drivers' race numbers in 2025.

For some drivers it is an easy decision to make, for others it poses a dilemma. It is important that drivers think about it carefully, because numbers can only be changed when the driver has not been active in F1 for two years prior to a potential return to the series.

Number one is reserved for the world champion. Max Verstappen is the reigning world champion and he will drive with the number one on his car again in 2025. Not every world champion chooses to do this, however, as Lewis Hamilton, for example, has always driven with his number 44, even during his championship winning years.

It is only since 2014 that drivers have been allowed to choose their own race number. In 2015, after Jules Bianchi's crash, it was ruled that his race number, 17, could no longer be used. Furthermore, there should be no duplicate numbers and a number remains reserved for two years after a driver's departure from the category.