The new year has begun, and in January, we continue our now-classic column “Start Number,” this time featuring Lando Norris’s choice of number 4. He would have preferred a different start number, but whether he ever wants to switch is a question.
Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine Lando Norris without the start number 4, so ‘personal’ has it become to him. However, it was a close call, and the latest British hope in troubled Formula 1 days could have been racing with a different number.
Norris preferred number 11 when it became clear that he would debut for McLaren in F1. But that number was already in use, notably by one of his future competitors: Sergio Pérez. The fact that the Mexican has since lost his seat in F1 may open doors for a switch for Norris. Although?
Number 11 is still ‘reserved’. The last driver who used a number can claim it for three years. So Pérez can take his start number back into use. Norris can’t claim the start number for some time. Not to mention number 31: Esteban Ocon already had that number when Norris entered F1. And he still has that number. Ocon is still racing as a driver. So start number 31 will be out of reach for even longer.
However, it’s questionable whether Norris even wants to switch: start number 4 suits him, it has become ‘his’ number. The reason why he chose it when 11 and 31 were not available? He thought it suited his logo. There’s no more to it than that. It has served him well: both commercially and sportingly, the Englishman has achieved much success with it over the past few years. It’s no coincidence that there are only fours on the license plate of the Ferrari that Norris drives around his hometown of Monte Carlo.
