Hamilton to use #1 in Abu Dhabi!

Since F1 moved to allowing drivers to pick their own numbers, the #1 has been missing from the F1 grid. Lewis Hamilton has chosen to use #44 every time he has been defending champion, and Nico Rosberg didn’t wait around long enough to use it, so it has been vacant since the last race of 2014, when Sebastian Vettel was the defending champion at Red Bull.

However, Hamilton has decided to make it return for the final weekend of the 2019 season to celebrate becoming the World Champion for the fifth time.

Mercedes confirmed the news in Abu Dhabi: “It is car 44 on the entry list and timing screens and races under this number - the number is still present on the engine cover.

“But Lewis has requested and been given permission to run the number 1 on the nose at this final race of the season because he’s world champion. And it’s even a nice shade of metallic red to match his helmet!”