Why is Max Verstappen allowed to wear No 1 on his F1 car?

FORMULA ONE is back for another season - and Max Verstappen has a unique distinction on his car that no other driver can boast. Dutch driver Verstappen has won the Drivers' Championship FOUR times in a row, and will be looking to equal Michael Schumacher's record of five in a row this season. Lewis Hamilton will also be looking to break a record Michael Schumacher currently holds alongside him, and win Drivers' Championship number eight.

Hamilton drives with the No 44, while fellow Brit Lando Norris drives with No 4 Each driver has a choice over which number they use, and their numbers are reserved for up to two years after they leave F1 . Four-time world champion Verstappen did previously sport the No 33, but has since switched to No 1. Read more F1 news SunSport can reveal why he is allowed to wear this number.



Why is Max Verstappen allowed to wear No 1? In F1, a racer is allowed to switch to the number if they are the defending world champion. However, this is an option - not an obligation, as Lewis Hamilton never used No 1, sticking with his favoured 44 throughout his career. Max Verstappen made the switch from 33 to 1 when he won the Drivers' World Championship in 2021 and has been able to stick with it since.

Most read in Motorsport Full race schedule Round One - Australia Practice one - Fri, Mar 14, 1:30am GMT Practice two - Fri, Mar 14, 5am GMT Practice three - Sat, Mar 15, 1:30am GMT Qualifying - Sat, Mar 15, 5am GMT Race - Sun, Mar 16, 4am GMT Round Two - China - Sprint weekend Practice one - Fri, Mar 21, 3:30am GMT Sprint Qualifying - Fri, Mar 21, 7:30am GMT Sprint – Sat, Mar 22, 3am GMT Qualifying - Sat, Mar 22, 7am GMT Race - Sun, Mar 23, 7am GMT Round Three - Japan Practice one - Fri, Apr 4, 3:30am BST Practice two - Fri, Apr 4, 7am BST Practice three – Sat, Apr 5, 3:30am BST Qualifying - Sat, Apr 5, 7am BST Race - Sun, Apr 6, 6am BST Round Four - Bahrain Practice one - Fri, Apr 11, 12:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, Apr 11, 4pm BST Practice three – Sat, Apr 12, 1:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, Apr 12, 5pm BST Race - Sun, Apr 13, 4pm BST Round Five - Saudi Arabia Practice one - Fri, Apr 18, 2:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, Apr 18, 6pm BST Practice three – Sat, Apr 19, 2:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, Apr 19, 6pm BST Race - Sun, Apr 20, 6pm BST Round Six - Miami - Sprint weekend Practice one - Fri, May 2, 5:30pm BST Sprint Qualifying- Fri, May 2 , 9:30pm BST Sprint – Sat, May 3, 5pm BST Qualifying - Sat, May 3, 9pm BST Race - Sun, May 4, 9pm BST Round Seven - Emilia-Romagna Practice one - Fri, May 16, 12:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, May 16, 4pm BST Practice three – Sat, May 17, 11:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, May 17, 3pm BST Race - Sun, May 18, 2pm BST Round Eight - Monaco Practice one - Fri, May 23, 12:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, May 23, 4pm BST Practice three – Sat, May 24, 11:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, May 24, 3pm BST Race - Sun, May 25, 2pm BST Round Nine - Spain Practice one - Fri, May 30, 12:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, May 30, 4pm BST Practice three – Sat, May 31, 11:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, May 31, 3pm BST Race - Sun, Jun 1, 2pm BST Round Ten - Canada Practice one - Fri, Jun 13, 6:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, Jun 13, 10pm BST Practice three – Sat, Jun 14, 5:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, Jun 14, 9pm BST Race - Sun, Jun 15, 7pm BST Round 11 - Austria Practice one - Fri, Jun 27, 12:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, Jun 27, 4pm BST Practice three – Sat, Jun 28, 11:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, Jun 28, 3pm BST Race - Sat, Jun 29, 2pm BST Round 12 - Silverstone Practice one - Fri, Jul 4, 12:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, Jul 4, 4pm BST Practice three – Sat, Jul 5, 11:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, Jul 5, 3pm BST Race - Sun, Jul 6, 3pm BST Round 13 - Belgium - Sprint weekend Practice one - Fri, Jul 25, 11:30pm BST Sprint Qualifying - Fri, Jul 25, 3:30pm BST Sprint – Sat, Jul 26 , 11am BST Qualifying - Sat, Jul 26, 3pm BST Race - Sun, Jul 27, 2pm BST Round 14 - Hungary Practice one - Fri, Aug 1, 12:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, Aug 1, 4pm BST Practice three – Sat, Aug 2, 11:30am BST Qualifying - Sat, Aug 2, 3pm BST Race - Sun, Aug 3, 2pm BST Round 15 - Netherlands Practice one - Fri, Aug 29, 11:30am BST Practice two - Fri, Aug 29, 3pm BST Practice three – Sat, Aug 30, 10:30am BST Qualifying - Sat, Aug 30, 2pm BST Race - Sun, Aug 31, 2pm BST Round 16 - Italy Practice one - Fri, Sep 7, 12:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, Sep 7, 4pm BST Practice three – Sat, Sep 8, 11:30am BST Qualifying - Sat, Sep 8, 3pm BST Race - Sun, Sep 9, 2pm BST Round 17 - Azerbaijan Practice one - Fri, Sep 19, 9:30am BST Practice two - Fri, Sep 19, 1pm BST Practice three – Sat, Sep 20, 9:30am BST Qualifying - Sat, Sep 20, 1pm BST Race - Sun, Sep 21, 12pm BST Round 18 - Singapore Practice one - Fri, Oct 3, 10:30am BST Practice two - Fri, Oct 3, 2pm BST Practice three – Sat, Oct 4, 10:30am BST Qualifying - Sat, Oct 4, 2pm BST Race - Sun, Oct 5, 1pm BST Round 19 - United States - Sprint weekend Practice one - Fri, Oct 17, 6:30pm BST Sprint Qualifying - Fri, Oct 17, 10:30pm BST Sprint – Sat, Oct 18, 6pm BST Qualifying - Sat, Oct 18, 10pm BST Race - Sun, Oct 19, 8pm BST Round 20 - Mexico Practice one - Fri, Oct 24, 7:30pm BST Practice two - Fri, Oct 24, 11pm BST Practice three – Sat, Oct 25, 6:30pm BST Qualifying - Sat, Oct 25, 10pm BST Race - Sun, Oct 26, 8pm GMT Round 21 - Brazil - Sprint weekend Practice one - Fri, Nov 7, 2:30pm GMT Sprint Qualifying - Fri, Nov 7, 6:30pm GMT Sprint – Sat, Nov 8, 2pm GMT Qualifying - Sat, Nov 8, 6pm GMT Race - Sun, Nov 9, 5pm GMT Round 22 - Las Vegas Practice one - Fri, Nov 20, 12:30am GMT Practice two - Fri, Nov 20, 4am GMT Practice three – Sat, Nov 21, 12:30am GMT Qualifying - Sat, Nov 21, 4am GMT Race - Sun, Nov 22, 4am GMT Read More on The Sun Round 23 - Qatar - Sprint weekend Practice one - Fri, Nov 28, 1:30pm GMT Sprint Qualifying - Fri, Nov 28, 5:30pm GMT Sprint – Sat, Nov 29, 2pm GMT Qualifying - Sat, Nov 29, 6pm GMT Race - Sun, Nov 30, 4pm GMT Round 24 - Abu Dhabi Practice one - Fri, Dec 5, 9:30am GMT Practice two - Fri, Dec 5, 1pm GMT Practice three – Sat, Dec 6, 10:30am GMT Qualifying - Sat, Dec 6, 2pm GMT Race - Sun, Dec 7, 1pm GMT.