Driver Numbers

[soccerman17]

Not sure if they can officially reserve it, but there's a chance Red Bull just said "Hey, don't do that we want that number, here's some cash."

 

[Bill Boddy]

Maybe RBR fear that someone will put a hex(adecimal) on them.

That darn coat must be around here somewhere.

 

[RasputinLives]

I think I'm right in saying that all teams have to submit a reserve number for running third drivers in free practice. I have certainly heard about reserve numbers before. For instance Palmer hasn't run Grosjean's number when in FP1.

To be honest though if a driver who is going to actually be in a race wants it then they should let him have it

 

[RasputinLives]

Ted K asked this of some bloke from Toro Rosso, apparently all the teams have been issued with additional numbers for their test drivers in case they choose to dump the original pairing during the season. I presume they will use these numbers if they drive in one of the free practice sessions (?).

It was from FB I heard in this very thread!

 

[teabagyokel]

If he was confident he'd have picked 46.

 

[teabagyokel]

Here's the situation as it stands:

 

[teabagyokel]

These are the reserve numbers as used so far:

1. All numbers used in 2014 have been maintained for 2015
2. Red Bull have 16

So, we can assume the numbers were assigned based on the 2013 Constructors' Championship, thus the spare numbers were:

15/16 RBR
23/24 Mercedes
28/29 Ferrari
30/31 Lotus
32/33 McLaren
34/35 Force India
36/37 Sauber
38/39 Toro Rosso
40/41 Williams
42/43 Marussia
45/46 Caterham

Assuming only consecutive numbers were issued (this assumption would make the system work).

The only two of these numbers which have gone to a new driver in 2015 are 28 (Stevens) and 33 (Verstappen). However, we don't know if they were allowed to "steal" these numbers because they were picking in the close season, or if they were allowed to do so because the teams they'd "stolen" from hired 2014 (thus numbered) drivers as their reserves (FER: GUT/VER, MCL: MAG).

Also, Nico Hulkenburg, without you* Ferrari's reserve numbers would have been 27/28 .

Obviously, I hope that at the end of the season that all of the above listed numbers would be available to any person who had a thing for numbers between 29 and 46.

I have now thought about this way too much.

*Well, actually Jules Bianchi would have taken 27, which I suppose would have had the same effect in practice. So, in hindsight, there'd likely just be a whole lot more photoshop involving Gilles Villeneuve.

 

[teabagyokel]

Gasly has taken #10, which is the first example of a driver taking a number which had already been used (Kobayashi).

It has been vacant for 2½ years. Precedent set!

 

[Bleu]

The official rule says it's two full years. So Stroll and Vandoorne would have had chance to pick that or some other 2014-only number (4, 25, 99) but they chose some other.

 

[cider_and_toast]

I can't believe 69 hasn't been snapped up by someone. There must be at least one driver with a schoolboy sense of humour out there somewhere.

 

[sobriety]

According to legend the motorbike racer Nicky Hayden used number 69 as he crashed so often in junior series that his father insisted he have a number that looked the same whichever way up it was...

 

[Il_leone]

cider_and_toast I think there is a good reason why no 69 is not used now RIP Hayden.

Besides it was used by Hayden in WSB so I doubt anyone else wanted to use it

 

[Rutherford]

What does Hayden have to do with F1?
Funnily enough it’s also the 69th FIM Road Racing World Championship.

 

[cider_and_toast]

That's what I was thinking. There have been a numerous drivers to have been killed in F1 whose numbers are currently being used by drivers. As an example, Ronnie Peterson died racing car number 12, Gilles Villeneuve in car 27 and Piers Courage in car number 4. I could go on to list a number of other examples.

 

[sobriety]

Yup, I suspect the reason it isn't used is because F1 doesn't really have a sense of humour any more.