Lando Norris is already back in Formula 1 action in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi but has to wait before he can run with #1 on his car as the new world champion.
Norris clinched his first F1 title on Sunday, beating Max Verstappen to the crown by just two points, and said afterwards he intended to switch from the #4 he has run through his career so far to the #1.
He also hoped it would be on the car already for his half-day driving McLaren’s ‘mule car’ in the Pirelli tyre test at the Yas Marina circuit on Tuesday.
However, Norris – who started driving in the morning with Oscar Piastri taking over later in the afternoon – is running with the #4 as normal and marking his new status with a special gold crash helmet.
Though Norris thought the #1 would be permitted he has to wait because despite all the organised celebrations and branding even used by F1 and the FIA on Sunday night, the season is not over and Norris is not yet officially world champion or permitted to change number.
That status is only confirmed at the FIA’s end-of-year prizegiving ceremony which takes place on Friday in Uzbekistan.
It is similar to how Norris did not receive his championship trophy or was even pictured with it ceremonially on Sunday.
This also applied four years ago when Max Verstappen won the 2021 championship in the Abu Dhabi finale but returned for the test two days later with #33 still on his car, even though he would go on to race with the #1 each season after winning each of his four titles.
Entry lists and car numbers are still relevant for race control and the timing system at the test, so the the rule requiring car numbers to be shown on the front of the car and sides of the engine cover still apply as they perform an actual function.
The numbers assist with visually identifying the car trackside. So in the event of a problem being reported or an incident occurring, such as Ryo Hirakawa causing a red flag in the morning of the test when he stopped on track, race control and the trackside marshals need to be able to identify the car correctly.
In 2018, Mercedes was given permission for FP1 only for Lewis Hamilton to run #1 only on the nose of his car, when it was entered as his usual #44.
That was only for a single 60-minute practice session and #44 still appeared on the engine cover - and it was the number Hamilton was entitled to run that year anyway as the active world champion. But at the moment the #1 still 'belongs' to Verstappen.
It is not a given that the world champion will switch to using #1. Verstappen - who is expected to take the #3 next year as it is now available since Daniel Ricciardo’s exit - ran the number but the driver he usurped as world champion, Hamilton, did not race with it.
“It's there for a reason,” Norris told Sky Sports F1.
“It's there because you can go and try grab it, and you can work hard to try and get it.
“And, for one year, all of us as a team that gets to have a role in McLaren in 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. It's knowing they put a lot of work and effort into everything that they also get to go 'we're number one.'
“It's not as cool when you wear number four."
