Formula One – Number One? Hamilton prefers to be 44

Monday, 2 March 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Mercedes Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain rides a bicycle during pre-season testing at the Jerez racetrack in southern Spain February 2, 2015. REUTERS Reuters: World champion Lewis Hamilton is Formula One’s number one, and hopes to remain so this year, but do not expect to see it on his Mercedes when the season starts in Melbourne on 15 March. For the double world champion, 44 is closer to the heart and that is what he will continue racing with rather than any single digit. Under rules introduced at the end of 2013, drivers get to choose their numbers and keep them for the rest of their careers. The number one is reserved for the world champion, if he wants to use it, and he must relinquish it when he loses the crown. Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel has had it since 2011 but is now number five at Ferrari. “Everyone can use number one when they win the championship but it’s irrelevant for me,” Hamilton told reporters after wrapping up his pre-season testing on Saturday when asked why he had decided not to switch. “Forty four means more to me than number one. It doesn’t mean I’m not number one. “The 44 is my family number. It’s the number I had when I first started racing. I won my first (karting) championship with 44. It means something to me. “The number one itself, Vettel’s had it, (Michael) Schumacher’s had it, all the champions have had it. None of them had 44. 44 is mine.”