Formula One Drivers Issued Permanent Race Numbers For Upcoming Season

F1 drivers "have now been issued with their permanent race numbers," after the FIA confirmed the entry list for the '14 season on Friday, according to Jonathan Noble of AUTO SPORT. As part of an effort "to improve the marketing nature of the sport," the teams and the FIA agreed at the end of last year that drivers "would now be assigned with numbers that they will carry throughout their entire careers." Drivers "had to lodge a request" with the FIA for their preferred numbers -- with any clashes going in favour of the driver that finished further ahead in the world championship. World champion Sebastian Vettel will have No. 1 this season, but has chosen No. 5 as his race number and "will switch to it when he is no longer champion." Pastor Maldonado "has elected" to bring the No. 13 back to F1, even though "it is traditionally viewed as unlucky," while Nico Hülkenberg will race with the No. 27 "made famous by Gilles Villeneuve" (AUTO SPORT, 1/10).