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(Source: Vettel)
Formula 1 drivers are the most aggressive and ruthless people in the world of sport. While racing, they should not have any emotions or personal interests. If a driver has that, he can't shine in F1 and will be replaced by someone. Did you know F1’s only posthumous champion, Jochen Rindt, had a tragic accident in the 1970 Italian Grand Prix and passed away on the track, and the race still happened?
His close friend and F1 legend Jackie Stewart cried seeing his friend's lifeless body covered in blood, and he went to qualifying to set the fastest lap and again came to the medical centre and cried seeing Rindt. They are two different people—one inside the car and the other outside.
F1 drivers are emotional with Race numbers
It also shows how Formula 1 drivers are mentally tough. Even for them, one thing that remains very emotional is their racing numbers. Every driver wants their favourite number stuck in their car. Each driver carries a racing number that has some personal significance or connection.
Lewis Hamilton has been using 44 since 2014 by adding all his race numbers since childhood: 2, 22, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10. Max Verstappen used 33, indicating ‘Double the happiness’ until becoming the world champion and after that, he carried that Number 1 in his car. In F1, No. 1 can only be used by the world champion, and 17 was retired due to Jules Bianchi’s death in 2014. If you take MogtoGP 8 eight-time world champion Valentino Rossi, he used only 46 throughout his career and never touched Number 1.
Sergio Perez uses No. 11, remembering Chilean football legend Ivan Zamorano. George Russell took 63 as his racing number because his older brother Benjy started using the number in his go-kart. Leclerc opted for Number 16 as it is his birthday date, October 16, 1997, and 1+6 = 7 ‘Thala for a reason’ (just kidding). Carlos Sainz wanted to have 5, but at that time Sebastian vettel was racing with that number, so he chose 55 because it resembles his name, Sainz. Lando Norris was a big fan of Valentino Rossi, but at the same time, he didn't want to copy his idol, so he took Number 4.
The Australian driver Oscar Piastri initially raced with Number 11, but due to a rivalry, he went for No. 81 and still races with that number. Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso races with Number 14 because, on July 14, 1999, he became the Karting world champion. Lance Stroll was very sentimental with his number 18 because his Formula 1 debut was confirmed just a few days after he turned 18. Gasly uses 10 because it was the number he wore when winning the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup.
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Esteban Ocon uses 31 because it was his first title-winning number in Karting. Alex Albon took 23 because it was his debut age in Formula 1. He is also a fan of Rossi, so 46/2 is 23. Yuki Tsunoda wanted 11 as his karting number, but because of Perez he doubled it and used 22 in his car. Daniel Ricciardo uses 3 to remember his idol and Indy car legend Dale Earnhardt, who was killed in a crash. Valtteri Bottas wanted seven, but it was Kimi’s number, so he took 77.
Talking about Kimi Raikkonen, he was asked how he got the number 7, and he replied, “I just picked a random number, that's all.” Zhou Guanyu uses 24 because he is a big fan of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who died in a chopper crash. After his death, the Los Angeles Lakers retired 24 and 8, as they were Kobe's jersey numbers. When Zhou came to F1, Grosjean already had eight, so he took 24.