Nato to race using number 17 in tribute to Bianchi

Formula E

Posted on

| Written by

Nissan driver Norman Nato has chosen to race as number 17 in his return to Formula E next year as a tribute to Jules Bianchi, his fellow French racer who died seven years ago.

Bianchi suffered serious head injuries in a crash during the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix and died nine months later.

He raced with the number earlier in his career but had number 71 on his car during his rookie FE campaign in 2021 with Venturi, as Nyck de Vries was already using 17. Now he will get to use his preferred number for his second season in the series, as de Vries has left FE for Formula 1.

In a social media post Nato said he was “happy and proud to race under number 17 in FIA Formula E”.

“This number means a lot to me. I started in karting and won championships with the 17. Jules also raced in F1 with this number which makes it even more special for me. Can’t wait to get started.”

Nato has number 17 on his Nissan Formula E car
The FIA allowed F1 drivers to select a permanent career number for the first time in 2014. Ordinarily a driver’s number is freed up for another racer to select if it goes unused for two full consecutive seasons. However in the days after Bianchi’s death the FIA announced the number had been retired from use in F1.

The number 17 was Bianchi’s fourth choice. He expressed a preference for numbers seven, 27 and 77, which were taken by Kimi Raikkonen, Nico Hulkenberg and Valtteri Bottas respectively.

Bianchi’s father Philippe indicated he supported Nato’s decision.

Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and go ad-free

Formula E


Browse all Formula E articles

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

Got a potential story, tip or enquiry? Find out more about RaceFans and contact us here.

2 comments on “Nato to race using number 17 in tribute to Bianchi”

  1. Bella touché Norman

  2. I like how Formula E has handled the situation, and the reason for Norman Nato changing his race number.

Comments are closed.