Why is Max Verstappen allowed to wear No 1 on his F1 car?
FORMULA ONE is back for another season – and Max Verstappen has a unique distinction on his car that no other driver can boast.
Dutch driver Verstappen has won the Drivers’ Championship FOUR times in a row, and will be looking to equal Michael Schumacher’s record of five in a row this season.
Lewis Hamilton will also be looking to break a record Michael Schumacher currently holds alongside him, and win Drivers’ Championship number eight.
Hamilton drives with the No 44, while fellow Brit Lando Norris drives with No 4
Each driver has a choice over which number they use, and their numbers are reserved for up to two years after they leave F1.
Four-time world champion Verstappen did previously sport the No 33, but has since switched to No 1.
SunSport can reveal why he is allowed to wear this number.
Why is Max Verstappen allowed to wear No 1?
In F1, a racer is allowed to switch to the number if they are the defending world champion.
However, this is an option – not an obligation, as Lewis Hamilton never used No 1, sticking with his favoured 44 throughout his career.
Max Verstappen made the switch from 33 to 1 when he won the Drivers’ World Championship in 2021 and has been able to stick with it since.
Full race schedule
Round One – Australia
Practice one – Fri, Mar 14, 1:30am GMT
Practice two – Fri, Mar 14, 5am GMT
Practice three – Sat, Mar 15, 1:30am GMT
Qualifying – Sat, Mar 15, 5am GMT
Race – Sun, Mar 16, 4am GMT
Round Two – China – Sprint weekend
Practice one – Fri, Mar 21, 3:30am GMT
Sprint Qualifying – Fri, Mar 21, 7:30am GMT
Sprint – Sat, Mar 22, 3am GMT
Qualifying – Sat, Mar 22, 7am GMT
Race – Sun, Mar 23, 7am GMT
Round Three – Japan
Practice one – Fri, Apr 4, 3:30am BST
Practice two – Fri, Apr 4, 7am BST
Practice three – Sat, Apr 5, 3:30am BST
Qualifying – Sat, Apr 5, 7am BST
Race – Sun, Apr 6, 6am BST
Round Four – Bahrain
Practice one – Fri, Apr 11, 12:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, Apr 11, 4pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Apr 12, 1:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, Apr 12, 5pm BST
Race – Sun, Apr 13, 4pm BST
Round Five – Saudi Arabia
Practice one – Fri, Apr 18, 2:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, Apr 18, 6pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Apr 19, 2:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, Apr 19, 6pm BST
Race – Sun, Apr 20, 6pm BST
Round Six – Miami – Sprint weekend
Practice one – Fri, May 2, 5:30pm BST
Sprint Qualifying- Fri, May 2 , 9:30pm BST
Sprint – Sat, May 3, 5pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, May 3, 9pm BST
Race – Sun, May 4, 9pm BST
Round Seven – Emilia-Romagna
Practice one – Fri, May 16, 12:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, May 16, 4pm BST
Practice three – Sat, May 17, 11:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, May 17, 3pm BST
Race – Sun, May 18, 2pm BST
Round Eight – Monaco
Practice one – Fri, May 23, 12:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, May 23, 4pm BST
Practice three – Sat, May 24, 11:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, May 24, 3pm BST
Race – Sun, May 25, 2pm BST
Round Nine – Spain
Practice one – Fri, May 30, 12:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, May 30, 4pm BST
Practice three – Sat, May 31, 11:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, May 31, 3pm BST
Race – Sun, Jun 1, 2pm BST
Round Ten – Canada
Practice one – Fri, Jun 13, 6:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, Jun 13, 10pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Jun 14, 5:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, Jun 14, 9pm BST
Race – Sun, Jun 15, 7pm BST
Round 11 – Austria
Practice one – Fri, Jun 27, 12:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, Jun 27, 4pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Jun 28, 11:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, Jun 28, 3pm BST
Race – Sat, Jun 29, 2pm BST
Round 12 – Silverstone
Practice one – Fri, Jul 4, 12:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, Jul 4, 4pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Jul 5, 11:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, Jul 5, 3pm BST
Race – Sun, Jul 6, 3pm BST
Round 13 – Belgium – Sprint weekend
Practice one – Fri, Jul 25, 11:30pm BST
Sprint Qualifying – Fri, Jul 25, 3:30pm BST
Sprint – Sat, Jul 26 , 11am BST
Qualifying – Sat, Jul 26, 3pm BST
Race – Sun, Jul 27, 2pm BST
Round 14 – Hungary
Practice one – Fri, Aug 1, 12:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, Aug 1, 4pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Aug 2, 11:30am BST
Qualifying – Sat, Aug 2, 3pm BST
Race – Sun, Aug 3, 2pm BST
Round 15 – Netherlands
Practice one – Fri, Aug 29, 11:30am BST
Practice two – Fri, Aug 29, 3pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Aug 30, 10:30am BST
Qualifying – Sat, Aug 30, 2pm BST
Race – Sun, Aug 31, 2pm BST
Round 16 – Italy
Practice one – Fri, Sep 7, 12:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, Sep 7, 4pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Sep 8, 11:30am BST
Qualifying – Sat, Sep 8, 3pm BST
Race – Sun, Sep 9, 2pm BST
Round 17 – Azerbaijan
Practice one – Fri, Sep 19, 9:30am BST
Practice two – Fri, Sep 19, 1pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Sep 20, 9:30am BST
Qualifying – Sat, Sep 20, 1pm BST
Race – Sun, Sep 21, 12pm BST
Round 18 – Singapore
Practice one – Fri, Oct 3, 10:30am BST
Practice two – Fri, Oct 3, 2pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Oct 4, 10:30am BST
Qualifying – Sat, Oct 4, 2pm BST
Race – Sun, Oct 5, 1pm BST
Round 19 – United States – Sprint weekend
Practice one – Fri, Oct 17, 6:30pm BST
Sprint Qualifying – Fri, Oct 17, 10:30pm BST
Sprint – Sat, Oct 18, 6pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, Oct 18, 10pm BST
Race – Sun, Oct 19, 8pm BST
Round 20 – Mexico
Practice one – Fri, Oct 24, 7:30pm BST
Practice two – Fri, Oct 24, 11pm BST
Practice three – Sat, Oct 25, 6:30pm BST
Qualifying – Sat, Oct 25, 10pm BST
Race – Sun, Oct 26, 8pm GMT
Round 21 – Brazil – Sprint weekend
Practice one – Fri, Nov 7, 2:30pm GMT
Sprint Qualifying – Fri, Nov 7, 6:30pm GMT
Sprint – Sat, Nov 8, 2pm GMT
Qualifying – Sat, Nov 8, 6pm GMT
Race – Sun, Nov 9, 5pm GMT
Round 22 – Las Vegas
Practice one – Fri, Nov 20, 12:30am GMT
Practice two – Fri, Nov 20, 4am GMT
Practice three – Sat, Nov 21, 12:30am GMT
Qualifying – Sat, Nov 21, 4am GMT
Race – Sun, Nov 22, 4am GMT
Round 23 – Qatar – Sprint weekend
Practice one – Fri, Nov 28, 1:30pm GMT
Sprint Qualifying – Fri, Nov 28, 5:30pm GMT
Sprint – Sat, Nov 29, 2pm GMT
Qualifying – Sat, Nov 29, 6pm GMT
Race – Sun, Nov 30, 4pm GMT
Round 24 – Abu Dhabi
Practice one – Fri, Dec 5, 9:30am GMT
Practice two – Fri, Dec 5, 1pm GMT
Practice three – Sat, Dec 6, 10:30am GMT
Qualifying – Sat, Dec 6, 2pm GMT
Race – Sun, Dec 7, 1pm GMT