P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Max Verstappen sought out Daniel Ricciardo’s permission to take his old F1 race number.
Daniel Ricciardo allowed Max Verstappen to use his old racing number from the 2026 F1 season, the number 3. Verstappen sought permission from Ricciardo, his former Red Bull teammate, who agreed to the change after discussions between the two drivers. Ricciardo had used the number 3 from 2014 until his last race in F1 at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. F1 regulations stipulate that a number remains assigned to a driver until it has been inactive for two seasons, but Ricciardo gave special permission for his old number to be used early. Verstappen preferred the number 3 over his previous number 33, and stated that he always considered it his favorite number after number 1. He had been running the number 1 on his car since 2022 due to winning four consecutive world championships, but will now switch to number 3. Lando Norris, who ended Verstappen’s reign at the top of F1, will be switching to number 1 for the 2026 season, as per the new F1 rule. Lewis Hamilton remains the only world champion to forego running the number 1 on his car, sticking with the number 44 throughout his six title-winning seasons with Mercedes.
