2025 World Champion Lando Norris has confirmed he will use number 1 on his McLaren car for the 2026 F1 season.
The Brit won the Drivers’ Championship by two points over Max Verstappen on Sunday following a nervy F1 Abu Dhabi GP for him and the team. He follows the Red Bull driver in using the #1 on his car. The Dutchman used it from 2022 through to yesterday as the reigning champion.
On the other hand, Lewis Hamilton stuck with #44 during his dominant period when he won six titles in seven seasons.
Previous World Champions had to run #1 as car numbers were handed out in the order of the Drivers’ World Champion and then the Constructors’ Championship in the first 13 years of this century.
Lando Norris revealed to Sky Sports F1 he had to make the decision to use car number 1 or 4 for 2026 today.
“I had to make a decision today already.”
Lando Norris on why he chose number 1 for the 2026 F1 season
For the first time since the 2010 campaign, the number 1 will be on the McLaren. It was used by defending champion Jenson Button that year.
Lando Norris explained how it was a decision beyond his own interests. He outlined how special it will be for everyone in the team to run it.
Following a 26-year gap, McLaren won a Constructors’ Championship last year. They defended it with dominance this time around. Norris’ F1 Drivers’ Championship glory is their first since Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
“It’s tradition. It’s there for a reason. It’s there because you can go and try to grab it and you can work hard to try and get it.
“And for one year, yeah, I think all of us as a team that gets to have a role in, I think, McLaren in my car, we’ll get to wear that with pride.
“You know, it’s all my mechanics, my engineers, everyone that’s part of McLaren gets to have that acknowledgement too.
“It’s not for me. It’s for them as well. It’s their pride. It’s knowing that 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 say, ‘oh, we’re number four.’
“So yeah, I think they’ll be even happier than I am.”
The 2026 F1 season begins with the Australian GP on the 8th of March.
