FIA releases driver numbers

Vettel 5, but will retain 1 for 2014
Ricciardo 3

Rosberg 6, same as his father is his title winning year
Hamilton 44, no idea why Lewis has this number. 

Kimi 7
Alonso 14

Grosjean 8
Maldonado 13, had to be him lol

Perez 11
Hulkenburg 27, the iconic 27

Massa 19
Bottas 77

Magnussen 20
Button 22, title winning number 

Gutierrez 21
Sutil 99

Vergne 25
Kvyat 26

Bianchi 17
Chilton TBC

Caterham haven't got any drivers yet.

Not really sure why they had to bother with this number change, just keep it the same in order of the constructors. Now, we've got random numbers all over the place. Hamilton is 44?????

Another random and pointless idea from Bern. ......err.....The FIA.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Another random and pointless idea from Bern. ......err.....The FIA.

I wouldn't say it's pointless. 

Just look at MotoGP. 

Rossi's 46 is iconic. 
Marquez's 93 could end up in the same class. 
Simoncelli's 58 will always be remembered. 

Career numbers are good for the casual fans. On merchandise if it's #44, you'll know it's Hamilton. Even if the drivers change teams, you're merchandise is still valid, as such.

Giles Villeneuve made no.27 iconic because it was his car number when he was tragically killed (that number was appointed to his car in the old system). World champions are easily identified with the No.1 car. Also the red No.5 was indelibly associated with Niger Mansell and am sure there are many more such associations with car numbers using the old system. As for your point about merchandising lasting longer yes there is that but I can guarantee you that the decision-makers never thought of that as to them it means a loss of revenue.

CaledonianCraig wrote:Giles Villeneuve made no.27 iconic because it was his car number when he was tragically killed (that number was appointed to his car in the old system). World champions are easily identified with the No.1 car. Also the red No.5 was indelibly associated with Niger Mansell and am sure there are many more such associations with car numbers using the old system. As for your point about merchandising lasting longer yes there is that but I can guarantee you that the decision-makers never thought of that as to them it means a loss of revenue.

FIA have a share in the drivers image rights, so having a pre selected number means advertising with said number can get fans into buying more merchandise etc. 

I think the FIA are trying to get the fans into a fanatical state, similar to MotoGP

Perhaps but call me a traditionalist. I mean where do we stop No. 1,000,000,000? I wonder which drive will plump for 007 first.

Seems pretty pointless to me. Surely the driver's name and face are more important associations with teams and brands, rather than their numbers?

I only got into F1 in the mid-1990s and have only ever associated drivers with specific teams and races.

Personally, just to be a pain in the ass, I'd go with something like 13.75

CaledonianCraig wrote:Perhaps but call me a traditionalist. I mean where do we stop No. 1,000,000,000? I wonder which drive will plump for 007 first.

Lol no more than two digits.

dyrewolfe wrote:Seems pretty pointless to me. Surely the driver's name and face are more important associations with teams and brands, rather than their numbers?

I only got into F1 in the mid-1990s and have only ever associated drivers with specific teams and races.

Personally, just to be a pain in the ass, I'd go with something like 13.75

TBH a driver can enhance his brand with a personalised number. 

Sorry to keep banging on about MotoGP, but the #46 and made Rossi the brand he is.

Yeah, I see your points about making a number synonymous with a particular driver but I don't see this catching on, like it has done in other formula.

Hamilton or Alonso don't need a number to improve their brand or sell more merchandise. There's so many other ways of attracting interest to a driver nowadays & capturing & entertaining fans through other outlets, such as Twitter etc. F1 nowadays is like a revolving door for drivers. There is so many changes in the driver market, that these numbers will be pointless as drivers may only survive one year in the sport at the max, whereas Moto GP, the longevity of a rider is much longer in my opinion.

Waste of time in my opinion, although I see your points about Rossi etc.

A very salient point there john. At the back of the grid, at least, teams tend to change drivers more frequently, meaning they'll have to keep using new numbers.

Dunno what was said about Valentino Rossi, but I'd have thought the number of titles he won made him the world-famous name he is, rather than the number he raced with.

Put it this way: are Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost or any of the other multiple title winners any less famous for not always having the same number?

I can see how a particular number would become associated with a successful driver / rider, but not how that would make them any more marketable...unless you had someone using #38 being sponsored by 38 Poker, or someone using #888 being sponsored by 888.com

The 44 probably stands for the amount of crashes he will cause. Just a guess.

gcBlues wrote:The 44 probably stands for the amount of crashes he will cause. Just a guess.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/25924834

43 to go!