Who’s choosing what? – driver numbers 2014
- This topic has 279 replies, 90 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 10 months ago by
.
- Posts
Bottas has put 77 as his first choice:
https://twitter.com/ValtteriBottas/status/411533807163277312
We know for sure he won’t get his third choice as it’s Perez’s first choice and Perez finished ahead of him in the championship this year.
To make it easier to see who’s picked what and who gets first preference, here are the choices so far in order of 2013 drivers’ championship finishing position:
1. Sebastian Vettel – No preference stated
2. Fernando Alonso – No preference stated
4. Lewis Hamilton – No preference stated
5. Kimi Raikkonen – No preference stated
6. Nico Rosberg – 1st: 6 2nd: 5 2nd: 9
7. Romain Grosjean – No preference stated
8. Felipe Massa – 1st: 19 (Reference)
9. Jenson Button – No preference stated
10. Nico Hulkenberg – No preference stated
11. Sergio Perez – 1st: 11 (Reference)
12. Paul di Resta – No preference stated
13. Adrian Sutil – No preference stated
14. Daniel Ricciardo – No preference stated
15. Jean-Eric Vergne – 1st: 25 2nd: 21 2nd: 27 (Reference)
16. Esteban Gutierrez – No preference stated
17. Valtteri Bottas – 1st: 77 2nd: 17 2nd: 11 (Reference)
18. Pastor Maldonado – No preference stated
19. Jules Bianchi – No preference stated
20. Charles Pic – No preference stated
21. Heikki Kovalainen – No preference stated
22. Giedo van der Garde – No preference stated
23. Max Chilton – No preference stated
n/a Kevin Magnussen – No preference stated
n/a Daniil Kvyat – No preference statedInteresting to see 2 of Nico (Rosberg)’s choices are where he’s been in the championship: 6th in 2013 and 9th in 2012 and 5th being where Mercedes were in 2012… Coincidence? Possibly…
One question. Can they personalize the design like in MotoGP or NASCAR? or do they have to use whatever design the team choses?
@booteh by my understanding, #6 is what Keke carried during his championship year, and is hence Nico’s reason for choosing it.
I’m guessing he also picked #9 because that was his number this year.
Alonso will go with #14 as he previously stated it was his lucky number. Plus he used #14 in Massa’s karting race, which is a good hindsight for possible driver numbers.
Vettel might pick #38 as he used the number during his first outing in an F1 weekend. (2006 Turkish GP Practice with BMW Sauber)
Hamilton might be going with #22, his championship winning number back in ’08. Or, he could go with his karting number #43, which Ayrton Senna used when he raced karts.
If Hammy passes on #22, that number might go to Jenson Button. He won the championship with #22 as a British driving for a British team exactly one year later in a wet Brazilian GP. If not, he might as well choose #99, also a karting number back in his childhood.
Raikkonen probably goes with #7, but who knows what’s going on inside his old Finnish head?
Magnussen will push for #23, as his father Jan raced the number in numerous occasions both in Formula 1 and other series. Kevin himself carried the number in Formula Ford, if I’m not mistaken.
Ricciardo might choose #17, regarding Massa’s karting tournament.
That’s all, nothing confirmed, just thoughts and a little bit of research.
Some good finds there… I wonder what might happen when a driver ahead in the queue takes a lower driver’s first choice.. Could we see ill feeling or negotiations between drivers for the number?
If Sainz Jr wants the same number as Massa… if he drives any session before Massa’s retirement, he will be stuck without his first choice! I would allow drivers to move up to their first choice if someone using the number retires personally, as the test driver numbers are not very important and will hardly be used.
Interesting that Felix da Costa could have the ‘unlucky 13’.
I expect that they would be adults about it.
On the one hand, drivers would want a number that is somehow important to them. But at the same time, it’s just a number. And there are 98 possible choices out there. For example, Bottas wants the number 77 so that he can pitch it as BO77AS. But if someone else takes it, he could always have 45 and make it BOTT45.
I don’t think anyone would make too big a deal out of it if they lost a favourite number. And I imagine they might discuss it with one another first.
Also, am I the only person who thinks career numbers should be applied in GP2 and GP3 as well, the way they do in MotoGP? There might be some cross-over, of course, but it would be nice for a driver to pick up a number early in their career.
@prisoner-monkeys I would imagine they are waiting to see how it pans out this year (2014), and then maybe introduce it in 2015 to the lower divisions. However, then you have the problem of, do the test-drivers get to pick their numbers first, even if they aren’t in the official tier system? i.e Renault 3.5, DTM, etc…
If they did, I would imagine they would have to increase the numbers to allow for the tripling or more of the driver pool, i.e up to say 150 or so. Then they would have to allow F1 drivers to change their number if they had a preferred number in that increased range to their current one. Then F1 test drivers, then GP2 in championship order inc test drivers, then GP3 in championship order and finally GP3 test drivers.
Obviously, some would be above their championship position if they are a test driver. BUT being a test driver means you are closer to F1 thus should have better number selection position. This would also then be the template for new drivers, F1-GP2-GP3.
If numbers double up in the junior categories, then it’s a case of first come, first serve when moving up. Maverick Finales carried the number 25 throughout his Moto3 career, but someone in Moto2 already has it, so he is using the number 40 next year.
I really hope Alonso takes number 27, although I really think they should have made an exception for the number 27 since it has such historical importance. It would seem wrong for it not to be either on a Ferrari or one of the greatest drivers. The number should be retired as Enzo suggested after Villeneuve’s death, or Ferrari have an exception from the number rule where they always have 27 and 28 (or 1 and 2 with a champion.)
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.