Oscar Piastri has chosen his racing number for 2023

Since 2014, the pilots of Formula 1 are asked to choose a race number before the start of the season. We already know that Max Verstappen will preserve his number 1 rather than number 33 thanks to his second world title won this fall.

For drivers new to the discipline, the choice is logically less consequential, with a ban on stealing a number already occupied by one of their peers. Thus, one of the two rookies on the 2023 grid, Logan sargeant (Williams), set his sights on number 2 because the number 3 was unavailable, Daniel Ricciardo preserving him as a reservist Red Bull next year.

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The other beginner on the 2023 field, Oscar piastri (McLaren), took number 81. “It was the number I wore in karting, Piastri said on “In the Fast Lane”, the official podcast of the Australian Grand Prix. The story in this issue isn't particularly interesting but I'll explain it anyway.

When I did my first race I had to choose a number and the kart shop I went to only had "1" numbers in stock, and it had to be a one or two digit number », continues the man who won the FIA ​​title Formula 2 in 2021.

“I obviously couldn't be number one, for obvious reasons, so I was actually number 11 for my first two races, and then we competed - I think it was the state championships in Victoria – and someone was already signed on as number 11. I don't know what inspired me to choose 81, but I changed the first number to a number 8, and that's stuck ever since. »

Oscar Piastri will become the first driver to wear the number 81 since drivers were able to choose their racing number in 2014.

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