Why does Lewis Hamilton have number 44 on his car? F1 icon’s 31-year reason for digits as they spark physio reunion rumours
Lewis Hamilton is one of the biggest and most recognisable sportspeople in the world. Such a privilege usually comes with a personal number; Cristiano Ronaldo‘s No.7, Michael Jordan‘s 23, and Hamilton is no different. Hamilton and Cullen shared a close relationship and the No.44 has sparked rumoursGetty The seven-time world champion is synonymous with the number 44 – to the point that Ferrari were able to tease his move from Mercedes by using a car with the same digits. The Italian team announced their partnership with Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% this month, with a miniature figure of a Ferrari. Upon closer inspection, the Ferrari was the Tecnomodel Ferrari 625 as driven to victory by Maurice Trintignant in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix – with the No.44 painted in white on it. 70 years later Hamilton will be behind the wheel of the Prancing Horse with the same digits he has made famous at Mercedes. Ahead of his debut, his former physio and trainer Angela Cullen sparked reunion rumours with the icon because of the number. A post on Cullen’s social media led to fans spotting a No.44 in the background of a picture, leading to plenty of speculation. The number has become synonymous with Hamilton and he made the most of a rule change to choose them. In 2014, F1’s governing body, the FIA, implemented a change allowing drivers to choose any available number between 2 and 99. It was introduced to increase the drivers’ personal branding and connection with fans, and Hamilton instantly picked the 44. Only the reigning world champion is allowed to change numbers throughout their career, but after each of Hamilton’s six titles since the 2014 ruling, he’s snubbed the chance to swap his digits to No.1. You can’t miss Hamilton’s numberGetty Why does Hamilton use the number 44? The 40-year-old picked the No.44 because these were his original digits when he was karting as a kid three decades ago. “When I was eight, we got a really old go-kart and it was owned by, like, five or six different families,” Hamilton said. “It was from the back of the newspaper. My dad got this kart, rebuilt it and we had to enter our first race and my dad didn’t know what number to use. And on the number plate of his car was F44. “That’s the number we raced with for many years, and then when I joined Formula 1, I had to be whatever the team asked me to be. “And then further into my career they then decided to allow the drivers to choose their one number and that would be their number forever, and I went back to the number where it all started.” He added: “It’s the number that my family recognised the most, it’s the number that has been loyal to me and to my fans.” Why F1 drivers picked their race number Max Verstappen No.1 – Reigning world champion (formerly No.33 having been denied No.3 by Daniel Ricciardo) Sergio Perez No.11 – In honour of ex-Real Madrid star Ivan Zamorano Charles Leclerc No.16 – Born 16th of October George Russell No.63 – Brother’s karting number Lando Norris No.4 – Denied 11 and 31 so picked the one that best fit his logo As Hamilton mentioned, prior to the 2014 rule change, he drove with a different number when he came through the ranks at McLaren. Hamilton sported the number one on his 2009 McLaren, after winning his first world title, but said: “It didn’t look very good on the car; 44 looks better.” Since leaving his first F1 team, the 44 has followed the seven-time champion around. And although it’s connected to his karting days, the number is more about his father than anything else. Anthony Hamilton has been with his son throughout his career and is a huge reason why Lewis has reached this level. So it’s lovely that the British driver pays tribute to his dad with the number 44. A young Lewis became a karting sensation under father Anthony’s guidanceGetty Images - Getty And at the 2019 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, Hamilton further explained the reasons behind these digits. He said: “I always start with the number 44 because that’s the number that I had on my go-kart when I was eight years old. “It was my dad’s car registration number, F44, so each year, it’s just a new chance to rise to the challenge.”
Lewis Hamilton is one of the biggest and most recognisable sportspeople in the world.
Such a privilege usually comes with a personal number; Cristiano Ronaldo‘s No.7, Michael Jordan‘s 23, and Hamilton is no different.
The seven-time world champion is synonymous with the number 44 – to the point that Ferrari were able to tease his move from Mercedes by using a car with the same digits.
The Italian team announced their partnership with Peroni Nastro Azzurro 0.0% this month, with a miniature figure of a Ferrari.
Upon closer inspection, the Ferrari was the Tecnomodel Ferrari 625 as driven to victory by Maurice Trintignant in the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix – with the No.44 painted in white on it.
70 years later Hamilton will be behind the wheel of the Prancing Horse with the same digits he has made famous at Mercedes.
Ahead of his debut, his former physio and trainer Angela Cullen sparked reunion rumours with the icon because of the number.
A post on Cullen’s social media led to fans spotting a No.44 in the background of a picture, leading to plenty of speculation.
The number has become synonymous with Hamilton and he made the most of a rule change to choose them.
In 2014, F1’s governing body, the FIA, implemented a change allowing drivers to choose any available number between 2 and 99.
It was introduced to increase the drivers’ personal branding and connection with fans, and Hamilton instantly picked the 44.
Only the reigning world champion is allowed to change numbers throughout their career, but after each of Hamilton’s six titles since the 2014 ruling, he’s snubbed the chance to swap his digits to No.1.
Why does Hamilton use the number 44?
The 40-year-old picked the No.44 because these were his original digits when he was karting as a kid three decades ago.
“When I was eight, we got a really old go-kart and it was owned by, like, five or six different families,” Hamilton said.
“It was from the back of the newspaper. My dad got this kart, rebuilt it and we had to enter our first race and my dad didn’t know what number to use. And on the number plate of his car was F44.
“That’s the number we raced with for many years, and then when I joined Formula 1, I had to be whatever the team asked me to be.
“And then further into my career they then decided to allow the drivers to choose their one number and that would be their number forever, and I went back to the number where it all started.”
He added: “It’s the number that my family recognised the most, it’s the number that has been loyal to me and to my fans.”
Why F1 drivers picked their race number
Max Verstappen No.1 – Reigning world champion (formerly No.33 having been denied No.3 by Daniel Ricciardo)
Sergio Perez No.11 – In honour of ex-Real Madrid star Ivan Zamorano
Charles Leclerc No.16 – Born 16th of October
George Russell No.63 – Brother’s karting number
Lando Norris No.4 – Denied 11 and 31 so picked the one that best fit his logo
As Hamilton mentioned, prior to the 2014 rule change, he drove with a different number when he came through the ranks at McLaren.
Hamilton sported the number one on his 2009 McLaren, after winning his first world title, but said: “It didn’t look very good on the car; 44 looks better.”
Since leaving his first F1 team, the 44 has followed the seven-time champion around.
And although it’s connected to his karting days, the number is more about his father than anything else.
Anthony Hamilton has been with his son throughout his career and is a huge reason why Lewis has reached this level.
So it’s lovely that the British driver pays tribute to his dad with the number 44.
And at the 2019 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, Hamilton further explained the reasons behind these digits.
He said: “I always start with the number 44 because that’s the number that I had on my go-kart when I was eight years old.
“It was my dad’s car registration number, F44, so each year, it’s just a new chance to rise to the challenge.”
