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, 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.
In 2014, F1’s governing body, the FIA, implemented a rule 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 – to put No.1 on the front of their car.
Hamilton has won six of his seven world titles since the 2014 ruling, but on each occasion, snubbed the chance to swap his digits.
Why does Hamilton use the number 44?
The 39-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. 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,” said Hamilton.
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
“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.”
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.”
