F1 fans are calling on the FIA to introduce an urgent rule change ahead of the 2025 season getting underway in March.
Only one week has passed since the conclusion of the 2024 season, with Lando Norris winning the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for McLaren.
The British team also lifted the Constructors' Championship for the first time since 1998, while Red Bull's Max Verstappen won the Drivers' Championship.
The 2025 season gets underway in three months' time, with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park being restored to the season-opening race slot for the first time since 2019.
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Meanwhile, the 20-car grid will change significantly, with Lewis Hamilton's move from Mercedes to Ferrari undoubtedly the most high-profile switch.
Two drivers will race in F1 for the first time, with Kimi Antonelli and reigning F2 champion Gabriel Bortoleto joining Mercedes and Sauber respectively.
There could yet be a third new arrival with the second RB seat yet to be confirmed, while Alpine's Jack Doohan has just one Grand Prix of experience under his belt having replaced Esteban Ocon at Abu Dhabi.
Doohan, Antonelli and Bortoleto have both decided on their permanent car numbers, which are chosen by a driver at the beginning of their first full season in F1 to stay with them for the rest of their careers. A change is permitted in the case of the reigning world champion, who can use the number 1 until another driver wins the title.
Car numbers are reserved to the driver for the first two years after they leave the sport, before another driver can then take it.
Previously, before the rule was introduced in 2014, drivers' numbers would be decided based on their team's Constructors' Championship finish from the previous season (except in the case of the world champion, who would always be given the number 1). The driver who finished ahead of their team-mate received the lower number.
Antonelli has chosen number 12, while Doohan had already picked the number 7 before racing in Abu Dhabi. Bortoleto, meanwhile, will have number 5 on his Sauber car.
But the picks of Doohan and Bortoleto have caused some controversy among fans.
Doohan's number was used by 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, while the number 5 famously adorned the car of four-time champion Sebastian Vettel.
And some fans have called on the FIA to bring in a rule change which would effectively 'retire' the use of numbers that have been picked by world champions.
Such a move would also see the number 44 retired when Lewis Hamilton decides to retire from the sport, while Max Verstappen's number 33 - and potentially the number 1 that he has used since winning his first title in 2021 - would also no longer be used when he moves on from F1.
There are sentimental reasons for Doohan and Bortoleto to use the numbers, though.
Doohan has described Raikkonen as his 'racing idol' growing up, while Brazilian driver Bortoleto has used the number in the past. It was also used by Michael Schumacher and Nigel Mansell, among others.
Topics: Formula 1
Ryan Smart