Lando Norris: F1 world champion McLaren driver to take car number 1 away from Max Verstappen from 2026 season
Lando Norris will change his car number to number 1 from 2026 after becoming world champion; Norris had been using car number 4 since he joined the sport in 2019 with McLaren; watch every round of the 2026 Formula 1 season, live on Sky Sports F1
Monday 8 December 2025 17:21, UK
Lando Norris has confirmed he will use the number 1 on his McLaren next year after winning the F1 Drivers' Championship.
Only the reigning F1 world champion can use number 1 on their car, so Norris will take that away from Max Verstappen who has run that number since 2022.
Lewis Hamilton chose not to use that number after his championship-winning years at Mercedes, instead sticking with his iconic 44.
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Norris, who had used number 4 since he joined F1 in 2019, told Sky Sports News of his decision: "It's tradition. It's there for a reason. It's there because you can go and try grab it and you can work hard to try and get it.
"All of us as a team that gets to have a role in McLaren, or my car, will get to wear that with pride. It's all my mechanics, my engineers, everyone that's part of McLaren gets to have that acknowledgement too.
"So it's not for me, it's for them as well. It's their pride, knowing that they put a lot of work and effort into everything that they can also go 'we're number one'. It's not as cool when you say 'we are number four' so they will be even happier than I am!"
Since 2014, drivers have stuck with the same car number after making their F1 debut but this rule will change from 2026 to allow drivers to change numbers year to year.
Regardless of the regulation change, Verstappen would have needed to find a new number after losing the number 1 to Norris.
The Dutchman ran number 33 prior to becoming world champion but says his favourite number is 3, which was previously used by Daniel Ricciardo.
Norris: I had to celebrate well!
Norris pipped Verstappen to this year's Drivers' Championship by two points and McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by 13 points.
He is the 11th British driver to become F1 world champion and he was congratulated by sportspeople and celebrities around the world including UK prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, NBA star Jimmy Butler, six-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz and reigning world darts champion Luke Littler.
"It was a big moment. It was a pretty incredible achievement for me and many other people that are all part of the big journey that we've been on," said Norris.
"I had to celebrate well, enjoy the moment, because it's a rare moment for anyone. It could be a unique moment, it could be the only one so I had to make it memorable.
"I've got a lot of messages! There's a lot on Instagram, a lot of legends, a lot of incredible athletes or personalities and just a lot of people that I've met around the world. That's always just that bonus to everything.
"It's not what I go around craving. The moment is the one with my friends, my family. But of course, the more messages you get, the cooler it is, so I appreciate all of the messages."
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