Verstappen, who usually races in Formula One with the number 33, has chosen to race in 2022 with the number 1.
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Max Verstappen joked that he hopes his usual race number does not appear on his car again anytime soon. Verstappen, who usually races in Formula One with the number 33, has chosen to race in 2022 with the number 1 – a perk of winning the title that the reigning World Champion can choose to use or not. Sebastian Vettel used the number 1 for a full season in 2014, the first year of the newly-introduced driver numbers.
No one has raced with the coveted number since then. Since then, Lewis Hamilton has always worn the number 44, while Nico Rosberg retired from Formula One two days after winning the 2016 championship. Verstappen, on the other hand, has chosen to race with the number 1 in 2022, and wore it for the first time in a promotional excursion for Red Bull at the 2022 GP Ice Race in Zell am See, Austria.
Verstappen, who was driving a modified 2012 RB8 with studded tyres, had a lot of fun drifting around in the ice and snow as part of the promotional event before climbing out with a big smile, had a lot of fun drifting around in the ice and snow as part of the promotional event. After realising the moment had occurred at the end of the day, the new World Champion said he enjoyed driving with the number 1 on his car for the first time.
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“I didn’t even realise it was on the car!” Verstappen said. “How many times do you get the opportunity to swap? Number 1 is the best number so, for me, it was very straightforward to pick the number 1. I hope, of course, that number 33 doesn’t come back next year!”
Verstappen has had a relatively low-key off-season, spending time at home and on vacation with his girlfriend Kelly Piquet. He’s also done some online endurance racing with his usual team, Team Redline, but says he’s back in the racing mindset as he prepares to defend his title.
“Just spending time away from racing,” he said, when asked about his winter break. “Having a good time with family and friends and actually just being at home. At this point already, it is [all about] getting ready again for the new season, but not too much of being around the car.”
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“So far, what I’ve been doing basically is being at home a lot and working out twice a day, whether that be at home or running outside and, between that, spending time with the family or being on my simulator,” the F1 world champion concluded.
