Photo: Oracle Red Bull Racing/Twitter
After Max Verstappen won the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, we saw the number one back on the top spot on the podium. Instant nostalgia hit us, and we were left wondering when was the last time we saw something like this.
Well, it's been almost nine years, or more precisely, 3,046 days since a #1 F1 car won a race. Sebastian Vettel was the last one to do it in his Red Bull RB9, at the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix.
To understand how much time had passed, Formula One cars still had a 2.4-liter V8 engine back then. Lewis Hamilton was in his first year with Mercedes, and only a one-time World Champion, Max Verstappen was driving in Formula Renault, Alonso was still at Ferrari, while Kimi was driving for Lotus. Oh, and Red Bull, together with Vettel were winning their fourth consecutive World Championships.
Now, you may wonder how that is possible. The answer is quite a simple one, to be honest. Until 2013, the numbers were allocated following two rules. The first stated the previous season's World Champion used the number 1, and his his team-mate car number 2. The rest of the teams got the numbers based on their position in the previous season's Constructors Championship.
However, from 2014, the rules allowed Formula One drivers to choose a number for their whole career, much like riders do in MotoGP. Only two numbers are not available, with number one being reserved for the World Champion (for example, Max Verstappen this year), and number 17, because of Jules Bianchi's death.
And it's true that from 2014 Lewis won six championships, and Nico Rosberg won it in 2016. However, Lewis had chosen his number 44 over #1 every year, while Rosberg retired immediately after winning the title.
With Max Verstappen looking like a serious title contender this year, we will often see the number one on the top spot.
To understand how much time had passed, Formula One cars still had a 2.4-liter V8 engine back then. Lewis Hamilton was in his first year with Mercedes, and only a one-time World Champion, Max Verstappen was driving in Formula Renault, Alonso was still at Ferrari, while Kimi was driving for Lotus. Oh, and Red Bull, together with Vettel were winning their fourth consecutive World Championships.
Now, you may wonder how that is possible. The answer is quite a simple one, to be honest. Until 2013, the numbers were allocated following two rules. The first stated the previous season's World Champion used the number 1, and his his team-mate car number 2. The rest of the teams got the numbers based on their position in the previous season's Constructors Championship.
However, from 2014, the rules allowed Formula One drivers to choose a number for their whole career, much like riders do in MotoGP. Only two numbers are not available, with number one being reserved for the World Champion (for example, Max Verstappen this year), and number 17, because of Jules Bianchi's death.
And it's true that from 2014 Lewis won six championships, and Nico Rosberg won it in 2016. However, Lewis had chosen his number 44 over #1 every year, while Rosberg retired immediately after winning the title.
With Max Verstappen looking like a serious title contender this year, we will often see the number one on the top spot.
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