Daniel Ricciardo recalls Max Verstappen conversation before major F1 change

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that Max Verstappen first asked for his permission to take his old F1 race number at the 2025 United States GP.

For 2026, Verstappen can no longer run the #1 as reigning world champion, and was set to revert back to his permanent race number of #33, but a change in the sporting regulations for this season allowed drivers to change their number, if they so wished.

Verstappen became the first driver since permanent numbers were introduced in 2014 to change, and swapped his #33 for the #3 Ricciardo had run. 

However, under the rules, a number is still assigned to a driver for two full seasons after their final race, which in Ricciardo's case was the 2024 Singapore GP, meaning the #3 was not eligible to come back into the open pool until the 2027 season. 

However, given Ricciardo has now retired from racing, he gave Verstappen his blessing, with the Dutchman set to run the #3 in the coming.

Recalling the conversation, Ricciardo revealed Verstappen first mentioned the idea in Austin last season. 

"I got to see Max recently, and with the number three thing, it is quite cool and a cool story for us," Ricciardo said.

"Also, for the fans of F1 who supported Max and I when we were team-mates. So when I caught up with Max in Austin [in 2025], he mentioned that he wanted to take the number three.

"Of course, I was very, very happy to say yes because otherwise he would have had to wait one more year, so it is a pleasure for me to pass that number on to him."