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Find out why Max Verstappen chose the number 3 for 2026
The four-time Formula One world champion has to concede number 1, at least for a season, but he knew exactly what number he wanted to use in its place.
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Since 2022, the year after he won his first Formula One World Championship title, Max Verstappen has used 1 as his driver number. Each season, the number 1 car is reserved for the previous season's champion. Lando Norris has chosen to take on the mantle of the number 1 car for the 2026 season, forcing Verstappen to choose something new.
Flashback to number 33
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His choice isn't a spur-of-the-moment decision. Verstappen's had a number in mind for a long time. Ahead of the reveal of each team's new car over the next few weeks - see all of the other driver number changes below - Verstappen has explained exactly why he's made the change.
Before his first championship victory, he used the number 33, but he'll be swapping to number 3 for the 2026 season. Three has always been his favourite number, but he stuck with 33 because 3 was already in use at the time.
My favourite number has always been 3, apart from number 1
In an interview with Viaplay about his new number, shared on Formula1.com, he said: "It won't be number 33. My favourite number has always been 3, apart from number 1. We can now swap, so it'll be number 3. Number 33 was always fine, but I just like one 3 better than two. I always said it represented double luck, but I've already had my luck in Formula One."
The number 3 has some history at Red Bull. It was the number Daniel Riccardo used. Over the years, it's become synonymous with the Aussie driver. Therefore, Verstappen's number choice means more than just removing a three from the front of his car. He needed to make sure that Riccardo was OK with the decision.
The former team-mates have a long history
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Verstappen personally asked Ricciardo for permission to use the number. As expected, he agreed. The rules say that a number isn't free until it hasn't been used for two consecutive seasons. It has been less than that since Riccardo's last race, so Verstappen needed to request permission to use it and then confirm that with the FIA.
Verstappen joked before that he'd like to use number 69, but his father had talked him out of it.
Shared history with Riccardo
Riccardo and Verstappen continue to share a good relationship, having got on well during their time racing together, and that has inevitably helped the pair reach an agreement on the number 3.
Speaking to Sky Sports towards the end of Riccardo's time with the Racing Bulls, Verstappen said: "Daniel and I, of course, go a long way back. We have always had a great relationship, great friendship, a lot of respect for each other as well, so he's just a great guy. [We] get on well, it just clicks. There is no fake person; we just get along and are easygoing. We are like that. He will for sure be remembered as a very fast driver, I think everyone knows that, but also as a great guy in the paddock."
It's two years for Red Bull's two drivers
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Get caught up before the season starts
And Riccardo hasn't shied away from expressing the respect he has for Verstappen. In late 2024, he spoke about the Dutchman's rise, saying: "He's operating on such a level of calmness, composure, confidence - that's the most impressive thing now." That shared success and respect is why they were such successful team-mates, having played a key role in their partner's career. Verstappen is more than just a racer to Riccardo, too. In the same interview, he expressed how he's been able to "see the human side behind the competitiveness" that not everyone gets to see.
Since drivers were first allowed to choose their own numbers in the 2014 season, Verstappen is only the second driver to occupy the number 3. Between then and 1996, the season's driver numbers were determined by the previous season's Constructors' Championship standings. Before then, numbers were either assigned to teams for long periods or decided by the organisers of each event. So he's only the second driver to call number 3 his own.
2026 season: When and how to watch
Before the action begins, each team will reveal its new cars in special events. The reveal sequence is being kicked off by Red Bull on Thursday, January 15, at an event alongside Ford.
The event takes place at Michigan Central Station, which was transformed in 2024. You can watch the reveal on Red Bull TV.
Then, pre-season testing begins on January 26 at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It is the first of three testing events, with the first being a private one that runs for five days.
It will be a race to be ready in time for the Australian Grand Prix
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Since the regulations have changed for the 2026 season, we are likely to see quite drastically different cars once they're revealed. Therefore, testing will be more important than in recent years, as drivers and teams get used to their new cars.
Then, once testing is complete, teams will be getting ready for the first Grand Prix of the season, which takes place in Melbourne, Australia, on March 8.
All 2026 driver numbers
All driver numbers for the 2026 season have been confirmed. The complete list is:
- Max Verstappen - 3
- Isack Hadjar - 6
- Oscar Piastri - 81
- Lando Norris - 1
- Pierre Gasly - 10
- Franco Colapinto - 43
- Fernando Alonso - 14
- Lance Stroll - 18
- Gabriel Bortoleto - 5
- Nico Hulkenberg - 27
- Sergio Perez - 11
- Valtteri Bottas - 77
- Charles Leclerc - 16
- Lewis Hamilton - 44
- Oliver Bearman - 87
- Esteban Ocon - 31
- George Russell - 63
- Andrea Kimi Antonelli - 12
- Liam Lawson - 30
- Arvid Lindblad - 41
- Alex Albon - 23
- Carlos Sainz - 55
None of the other drivers returning from last season have changed their number. However, a few drivers are making their return to the sport, and one more is making their debut.
Verstappen and Pérez sharing the podium for the fourth time in 2024
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Valteri Bottas has long used 77, so he is returning to it, having incorporated it into much of his branding in recent years. Sergio Perez is also returning to his number 11, which he has always used as a tribute to Ivan Zamorano, his favourite soccer player.
Finally, Arvid Lindblad, this year's sole rookie, will race with number 41. He's chosen it for two reasons. First, 41 is the closest visual analogue to his initials, AL. Also, 41 has never been used in Formula One, so it'll be a number unique to Lindblad. He'll be hoping it becomes synonymous with him over the coming years.
As one of the few changes in the 2026 season, Max Verstappen will be doing everything he can to take over the converted number 1 car for the 2027 season.
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