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Leaving the'1, Max Verstappen reveals which number he will race with in 2026

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Max Verstappen in 2026 will race with the number 3, of course the number 1 passes on the single-seater of Lando Norris, the new F1 world champion, after overtaking the Red Bull driver by only two points.

Martino DavidiMax Verstappen consoles himself with the ranking of Formula 1’s highest-paid drivers

The ten highest-paid drivers of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship earned a total of $363 million.
Although Lando Norris took the title at the end of the Abu Dhabi GP, the new world champion figures only in third place.

The ranking marks a 15 percent increase from the 317 million in 2024 and a startling 72 percent increase from 2021.
These are high figures, but in line with the economic growth of Formula 1.
In the last season, the teams averaged $430 million in revenue and an average valuation rose to $3.6 billion, nearly double the $1.9 billion in 2023.
Charles Leclerc is only fifth with 30 million euros.
Lewis Hamilton on the other hand is second with over 70 million euros.

Although having to give up the number one on his Red Bull, Max Verstappen remains the highest paid driver in Formula 1.
Despite the title slipping away by just two points in the last race, the Dutchman still improved his haul over the previous year, adding one million to his income.
His total for 2025 thus reaches $76 million, of which $65 million comes from salary and 11 from bonuses.
A nice way to console himself after the title lost by two points.
Verstappen is also the one who has won the most races this'year, eight.

From his debut with Toro Rosso in 2015, Verstappen raced in the No. 33 car, but chose to switch to No. 1 when he beat Lewis Hamilton, then at Mercedes, to win the 2021 title. He thus began a four-year streak as world champion. That streak was broken by Norris, who secured his first title with a third-place finish at the Abu Dhabi GP as a McLaren driver.

Instead of returning to 33, the Dutchman will use the number previously worn by his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo. The two raced side by side at Red Bull from 2016 to 2018, but Verstappen explained that switching to the number 3 has been a career-long dream of his.

In an’interview with Viaplay, he said: “My favorite number has always been 3, apart from the’1. The number 33 has always been good, but I prefer a 3 to two. It represents double luck, but I have already had luck in Formula 1”. Both the FIA and Ricciardo, who retired in 2024, have given Verstappen permission to reinstate the 3 on the 2026 grid.

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