Some racing numbers are synonymous with the stars whose cars and overalls bore them.

But the modern-day rules mean even the best drivers are not entitled to hold onto them forever. And that has been underlined as the 2025 season gets under way at the this weekend, where several rookie drivers will line up on the grid after a particularly active driver market last year.

Among the racing numbers taken by those new faces are the ones which were used by champions like and . That has been allowed as the rules dictate that any driver who hasn't raced in F1 for two full seasons must release their number and it becomes available again for new competitors to choose.

The only exception is the number 17, which is the only one retired permanently by the sport to honour Jules Bianchi who died as a result of injuries sustained while racing at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix.

As the 2025 season begins, Mirror Sport runs through the all-important figures:

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Lando Norris #4 and Oscar Piastri #81

Defending constructors' champions unsurprisingly field an unchanged driver line-up this year and the racing numbers are the same as a result. Norris couldn't pick his junior numbers 11 and 31 because they were already taken so he went for 4 because "it fitted very nicely into my logo", while Piastri had no such trouble carrying his 81 over from his karting days.

Charles Leclerc #16 and Lewis Hamilton #44

Leclerc is another who was denied his preferred choices, 7 and 10, because they were already being used by Raikkonen and respectively, so he went for 16 because "one plus six is seven".

His new team-mate Hamilton brings with him his iconic 44 which he has used throughout his entire racing career because the number plate on his dad's car began with F44.

Max Verstappen #1 and Liam Lawson #30

Verstappen enters the season as the defending drivers' champion again which means he has the right to use the number 1. He still gets to reserve the 33 he used before his title-winning streak, though. His latest team-mate Lawson takes the 30 last used by Renault driver in 2017, chosen to honour a friend and mentor from his karting days who used that same number.

Kimi Antonelli #12 and George Russell #63

Antonelli plumped for the 12 last used by Felipe Nasr in 2016 for several reasons - it was his first number in single seater racing, because he was that age when he joined the academy and also as a way to honour his hero , who took his first F1 win with that number 12 when driving for Lotus.

Russell continues with his 63 having chosen it because his older brother Benjy used it in karting.

Fernando Alonso #14 and Lance Stroll #18

There was only ever going to be one number chosen by Alonso, as once explained: "When I was 14 years old, the 14th of July, and with the go kart number 14, I was World Champion. From that moment I had no doubt that 14 is my number." team-mate Stroll keeps the number he ran when he drove to title success at Formula 3 and Formula 4 level.

Jack Doohan #7 and Pierre Gasly #10

Rookie Doohan wanted the number 12 but was beaten to it by Antonelli who got his request in with the FIA first, so has settled for 7 to honour Raikkonen, the last man to race it in 2021, who he named as one of his idols as a youngster.

team leader Gasly has held the 10 throughout his F1 career, chosen partly because of his junior success with the same figure but also because of his love of French football legend Zinedine Zidane.

Esteban Ocon #31 and Oliver Bearman #87

An all-new driver line-up at means some very different numbers for the graphics department to get used to. Ocon keeps the 31 he chose when he first entered F1 because that was the number he ran during his best season in karting, while British rookie Bearman uses the 87 because he was born on the 8th and his brother on the 7th, making a nice family connection.

Isack Hadjar #6 and Yuki Tsunoda #22

Hadjar is another who has chosen a number because he used it when karting as a youngster, picking the 6 that became available only for this season after last being used by . Before that, it was the number that bore when he became F1 champion in 2016. Entering his fifth season in F1, Tsunoda uses another former F1 champion's number in the 22 raced with by up to the 2017 season.

Alex Albon #23 and Carlos Sainz #55

Two very familiar numbers at , with Albon retaining the 23 he first chose to honour MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, who raced with 46 so the British-Thai driver halved it. New signing Sainz has brought his 55 with him from Ferrari which he was forced to pick because his favourite number was 5, but it was already taken by Vettel.

Gabriel Bortoleto #5 and Nico Hulkenberg #27

But now that Vettel has been out of the sport for two full seasons, his number became available and rookie Bortoleto moved swiftly to snap it up, as he won the Formula 3 title using that same number. Hulkenberg brings with him the 27 that he raced with at Haas, chosen because his birthday is August 19 and 19 plus 8 is 27.