Nyck de Vries has chosen the race number 21 for his full-time Formula 1 debut with AlphaTauri next year.
His selection was confirmed in the official entry list for the 2023 F1 season which was published today by the FIA. The last driver to race as number 21 was Esteban Gutierrez in 2016. Drivers’ numbers become available if they go unused for two consecutive full seasons.Oscar Piastri and Logan Sargeant, who will also make their debuts next year, have previously announced their chosen numbers.
In addition to the three newcomers, three other drivers have changed teams for the upcoming season. Nico Hulkenberg has returned to F1 with Haas, while Pierre Gasly has joined Alpine in place of Fernando Alonso who has moved to Aston Martin.
None of the teams have changed engine suppliers for the new season. However Red Bull’s power unit supplier, which was officially termed ‘Red Bull Powertrains’ last year, is now described as ‘Honda RBPT’.
Haas is also officially entered with the name of its new title sponsor which was announced in October.
FIA 2023 Formula 1 world championship entry list
| Number | Driver | Company | Team | Chassis | Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull Racing Limited | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT |
| 11 | Sergio Perez Mendoza | Red Bull Racing Limited | Oracle Red Bull Racing | Red Bull Racing | Honda RBPT |
| 16 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari Spa | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari |
| 55 | Carlos Sainz Jnr | Ferrari Spa | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari |
| 63 | George Russell | Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | Mercedes | Mercedes |
| 44 | Lewis Hamilton | Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix Limited | Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team | Mercedes | Mercedes |
| 31 | Esteban Ocon | Alpine Racing Limited | Alpine F1 Team | Alpine | Renault |
| 10 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine Racing Limited | Alpine F1 Team | Alpine | Renault |
| 81 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren Racing Limited | McLaren Formula 1 Team | McLaren | Mercedes |
| 4 | Lando Norris | McLaren Racing Limited | McLaren Formula 1 Team | McLaren | Mercedes |
| 77 | Valtteri Bottas | Sauber Motorsport AG | Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari |
| 24 | Zhou Guanyu | Sauber Motorsport AG | Alfa Romeo F1 Team ORLEN | Alfa Romeo | Ferrari |
| 18 | Lance Stroll | AMR GP Limited | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team | Aston Martin Aramco | Mercedes |
| 14 | Fernando Alonso Diaz | AMR GP Limited | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team | Aston Martin Aramco | Mercedes |
| 20 | Kevin Magnussen | Haas Formula LLC | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Haas | Ferrari |
| 27 | Nico Hulkenberg | Haas Formula LLC | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | Haas | Ferrari |
| 21 | Nyck de Vries | Scuderia AlphaTauri | Scuderia AlphaTauri | AlphaTauri | Honda RBPT |
| 22 | Yuki Tsunoda | Scuderia AlphaTauri | Scuderia AlphaTauri | AlphaTauri | Honda RBPT |
| 23 | Alexander Albon | Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited | Williams Racing | Williams | Mercedes |
| 02 | Logan Sargeant | Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited | Williams Racing | Williams | Mercedes |
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Bleu (@bleu)
15th December 2022, 12:13
That will make fifth occasion where team-mates hold consecutive numbers since driver numbers were introduced:
9 Ericsson/10 Kobayashi
25 Vergne/26 Kvyat
18 Stroll/19 Massa
3 Ricciardo/4 Norris
21 de Vries/22 Tsunoda
Dex
15th December 2022, 14:53
I think we’re getting too obsessed over all kinds of stats to be honest…
DonSmee (@david-beau)
17th December 2022, 20:43
Shows how boring the sport has become.
MacLeod (@macleod)
16th December 2022, 7:48
That means de Vries is the team nr. 1? I think Dex is right stats are fun but should be overbearing.
Qeki (@qeki)
15th December 2022, 13:40
Be in F1 long enough to become the villain or leave as a hero.
Or come back again to become a honda
Jere (@jerejj)
15th December 2022, 14:42
I’m surprised how long he took to choose, considering he got formally confirmed on the Japanese GP weekend, while Sargeant got fully confirmed on the last race weekend some six weeks later & chose shortly after the weekend. Nevertheless, another number that someone (Gutierrez) had already used before since 2014 when the number-selection rule came.
Coventry Climax
15th December 2022, 17:26
Maybe he doesn’t give a hoot? I wouldn’t.
Coventry Climax
15th December 2022, 17:41
I still prefer the old system, where the drivers got numbered based on the championship order of the previous season.
That gave it meaning, and makes it much easier to see what progress they make or steps back they take, compared to the previous season.
Being identified by / associated with a number is like prisoners, or cows in a stable. Not my cup of tea.
They already have a neat trick for that, which is called a ‘name’.
Easier to see on track who’s who? Forget it, with the silly micro-size these numbers are put on the cars. It’s usually livery and wether the camera on top is yellow or not.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
15th December 2022, 22:02
I don’t, those numbers had no meaning, whereas now they’re part of the drivers’ identities. There aren’t many things from the last decade of Eccletone’s time in charge of F1 which I would hold up as an example of an improvement, but career racing numbers definitely were.
Coventry Climax
16th December 2022, 0:09
OK, different meanings, that’s allowed – I hope.
To me, those numbers did have meaning, more than they do now.
And again, driver’s identities have nothing to do with the numbers they chose.
Look at your own site, no driver is ever referred to by their number only, and rarely ever with a name and number.
And the latter probably just in the articles about the new drivers chosing their number.
MacLeod (@macleod)
16th December 2022, 7:56
Coventry Climax & @keithcollantine Watching those cars with different numbers just a year later was for the spectators on the tribune very hard to reconize drivers. I was one of those losing a bet because i mistaken my driver for his teammate.
Certain in a time with no multimedia it was hard to get information you get from Keith’s website. Now days everyone want easy reconising things so different numbers would be seen as not cool…
This system is very simple and understandable if you see nr. 44 this year or ten year ago you know it’s Lewis if they have diffenrent numbers you could mistake Lewis for his teammate….
dot_com (@dot_com)
15th December 2022, 19:29
MoneyGram Haas F1 does not have a good ring to it.
jer99 (@jer99)
15th December 2022, 23:11
So do the commentators now call the driver in car 14 as Diaz or the driver formerly known as Alonso?
I have an opinion
16th December 2022, 9:57
Fernando Maria Conchita Alonso Sanchez Vicario Senna da Silva
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
16th December 2022, 21:28
Only if his mother’s driving
(hopefully Lance would beat her)