Rumors

Leclerc considering number change after the departure of Raikkonen

28 December 2021 at 14:55
Last update 28 December 2021 at 18:42
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  • GPblog.com

Charles Leclerc has always driven with the number 16, but he is considering changing his number before the new Formula One season begins, reports Autosprint.

The number Leclerc always wanted to drive with was 7, as he had used it throughout his career. In Formula 1 he had to choose a different number, because Kimi Raikkonen had already chosen that number. Now that the Finn is no longer driving in Formula 1, the Ferrari driver can think again about whether he wants to change his number.

In addition to number 7, the driver would have liked to have driven with number 10, but Pierre Gasly was already using that. "I ended up using number 16, because one plus six equals seven and I was born on the sixteenth of October. Not really an interesting story," the 24-year-old driver reported earlier in the year in a YouTube video from Formula 1 in which drivers explained why they drove with their chosen number.

Exception?

The former Sauber driver could change his number, but according to the regulations, a change is not easily made: "Such numbers must then be used by that driver during every Formula One World Championship Event he takes part in throughout his career in Formula 1." So it looks like Leclerc is out of luck and might have to keep number 16.