Max Verstappen has revealed that he held a conversation with Daniel Ricciardo over taking his former team-mate’s race number this year.
Back in 2014, Ricciardo chose ‘3’ as his personal number and used it throughout his F1 career, which came to a close after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.
Verstappen ran ’33’ for several years before switching to ‘1’ in 2022, which was his right as the reigning F1 champion.
However, he was forced to relinquish the number this year after Lando Norris prevailed in the 2025 drivers’ standings.
But instead of switching back to 33, Verstappen sought permission from Ricciardo to take over number ‘3’.
“For me, my favourite number was always number 3,” Verstappen told Viaplay.
“I just couldn't take it at the time because of Daniel. In Austin, we had a good chat with a drink about if I could take over number three.
“I have a good relationship with Daniel, and he was very happy to give it to me, luckily. So I'm very thankful for that.”
However, it was not as simple as registering a new number with the FIA, as the official rules dictate that a driver must be two years out of F1 before their number becomes available once again.
Red Bull applied for an exemption to the rule from the FIA, which was successfully granted.
“Basically, it was not possible,” added Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermuelen.
“We did some management behind the scenes to see if we could claim the number.
“You have to be out for one for two years. Technically, he was out for one and a half years. So he was very supportive to say he can have the number.
“FIA has to vote for it. In the end Laurent made it happen that we could claim the number.
“So that's basically Max's favourite number from the old days, so the number is back with Max.”
Originally published by RacingNews365 —
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