Max Verstappen is ready to change his race number in 2026.

      For the fourth year Max Verstappen has been racing with the champion’s No. 1 on his car, but if he fails to defend the title this season, in 2026 Max will have to return to his No. 33. However, the Formula 1 Commission has allowed drivers to change numbers over the course of their careers, and in Las Vegas Max Verstappen was asked which number he will race under next season.

      "That's a very good question!" the Red Bull Racing driver replied. "I'll think about it over the winter, but my favorite number is 3. Now it's a matter of seeing whether I can use it.

      Originally I wanted to take number 69, but my dad said that's not the best idea. But that number looks the same on the car whichever side you look at! So 69 is a good option for photos and marketing, and also for putting on caps. No matter how you put it on, the number will still read 69. From that point of view — a great marketing decision.

      I also like number 27, but it's already used by Nico Hülkenberg. I think the digits 2 and 7 look great together. My favorite number is 3, but there are other numbers I like too."

      Answering a question about the state of the championship and his chances for the title, Max said: "I'll need luck, a lot of luck until the end of the season, but I'm not thinking about it. There's a lot of points to claw back, and I just want to have good weekends for the rest of the season. After Abu Dhabi we'll close this chapter, rest a bit and start preparing for next year.

      I'm not too worried about how the season has gone. If I had known in advance how everything would play out, I might already be a billionaire. If I'd known beforehand what could be done differently, it would have made life a lot easier. But people always learn and make mistakes — we're not robots, that's life. That's why I'm not very upset about how it's turned out.

      I know that from the very start of the season the team has been giving 100%, and continues to give 100%. What else can we do? We've tried everything. We've had some great seasons, but this one hasn't been as good as the previous ones. But that happens — Formula 1 is highly competitive. This year one of the teams has performed better than us."