De Vries selects race number on FIA 2023 entry list

Nyck de Vries has chosen to use lucky 21 as his race number when he steps up to Formula 1 full time in 2023 with AlphaTauri.

All regular drivers get to chose a permanent competitor number which they keep for the duration of their time in the championship. Esteban Gutierrez was the last driver to use #21 until 2016.

The former Formula E world champion made his F1 debut in this year's Italian GP as a short-notice stand-in for Alex Albon, who was taken ill with appendicitis and had to undergo surgery in Monza.

• Read also: Verstappen sticks to 'beautiful' number 1 for 2023

De Vries took the seat but not Albon's car number, which is #23. Instead he raced under #45 which is a 'spare' number assigned to Williams to use for junior and reserve drivers during Grand Prix weekends.

The same number was later used by Logan Sargeant when he took part in a series of free practice sessions at the end of the season. But now he's confirmed in the Williams line-up for 2023, he will adopt #2 as his permanent designation.

That's not normally a popular choice, as it's too close to being a 'number two driver', but that doesn't appear to concern the American youngster. It was last used by Stoffel Vandoorne between 2017 and 2018.

The last of the three rookies on the full 2023 entry list published by the FIA on Thursday is Oscar Piastri. He will be using #81 on the car, the first time the number has been on a McLaren in F1.

Max Verstappen has confirmed that he will continue to use the #1 designation reserved for the reigning world champion. His personal permanent race number is 33 which is used up to 2021.

The entry list also confirms a team name change, with Haas now becoming MoneyGram Haas F1 Team after completing a title sponsor deal with the money transfer firm.

And there's an update on the name of the engine supplier for Red Bull and AlphaTauri. Previously RBPT (Red Bull Power Trains) it will now be Honda RBPT moving forward, restoring the Japanese manufacturer's brand to F1.

2023 car numbers, drivers and teams

The FIA has also published a full list of start times for every session of each Grand Prix weekend on the 2023 calendar has been shared, starting with the season-opener in Bahrain on March 5 to the Abu Dhabi finale on November 26.

Most races have mid afternoon (local time) starts. The exception are evening slots for Bahrain (1800 local), Qatar (1700 local) and Abu Dhabi (1700 local), and night-time slots for Saudi Arabia (2000 local), Singapore (2000 local) and Las Vegas (2200 local).

Vegas will also see FP1 and FP2 taking place on Thursday with FP3 and qualifying on Friday allowing the race to be held on Saturday night instead of the usual Sunday.

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