F1 Theory: The Power of Numbers




Think of your favorite number, it’s most likely a low one, such as 7 or 3. However, what does that say about you, and what does it mean for F1 drivers? Let’s explore the theory of Numerology.

Drivers’ Numbers so far:
(If you aren’t up-to-date on your driver number selections, here’s a recap on BBC: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/25694748 )

So up to now 19 drivers have picked their numbers. Here are some interesting facts about those numbers:

12:7 Odd to Even split

Despite the ability to choose any number from 2-99, 84% of drivers chose a number below 30

21% of drivers have the number 7 in their choice

1 is the most popular number, it appears 7 times in the grid

Why this is Important in Any Way Whatsoever:
You’ve probably asked the question above while reading so far, but stick with it. There’s more to it than you may think. So there’s this idea of Numerology, in which the numbers affect the performance of that person. Similar to the Color of Victory (Link to Article) article on how colors can effect the performance of a driver. Right away it seems plausible, pretty much all the champions have taken #1 for their car the following year, and out of all 63 official championships run throughout Formula 1’s history, only 17 haven’t been won by multi-championship drivers, who all shared the number 1.

Numerology and F1:
Basically, based on a person’s number, they will exhibit certain qualities. Here’s are two charts one to help calculate your number (Click Here), and one to tell you what that means. So I took them all and found the 1-2 most relevant traits for each number and have listed them out:
1: Willpower & Leadership
2: Emotions
3: Luck & Creativity
4: Endurance, & Instincts
5: Versatility
6: Perfection & Loyalty
7: Intelligence & Solitude
8: Material Success
9: Inspiration

Drivers put into categories:
1: Vettel
2: Magnussen, Perez
3: Ricciardo, Gutierrez
4: Maldonado, Button
5: Alonso, Bottas
6: Rosberg
7: Vergne, Raikkonen
8: Grosjean, Kvyat, Massa, Bianchi, Hamilton
9: Hulkenburg, Sutil

Let me just fire through them:
1: Vettel makes sense because he leads Red Bull and has enough willpower to not have “his balls in the pool” on Fridays
2: Perez’s emotions are always obvious, especially when talking about Maldonado, Magnussen we don’t know much about yet
3: Ricciardo and Gutierrez’s luck are both great, Gutierrez because Sirotkin couldn’t get his license in time, and Ricciardo because he came in at the perfect time to get experience and be ready for the once in a lifetime Red Bull seat
4: Maldonado’s instincts are great, especially when it involves (not) avoiding another car. Button’s endurance is great, he runs triathalons and his tire endurance is great as well, he can go extremely long on one set.
5: Both are versatile because they’ve performed well in a poorly performing car, this one matches up really well.
6: Rosberg is loyal to Mercedes and is a perfectionist because he never dnfs due to driver error.
7: When’s the last time you heard from Vergne? Also Raikkonen has his picture next to solitude in the dictionary.
8: Material success is hard to define, but all except Kvyat have access to top of the line cars from their teams, I would definitely call that material success
9: Hulkenburg has inspired us all on so many occasions and Sutil as well through doing 360s in 2011 or leading the race in Australia in 2013.


Verdict: Wait, wait, wait, a second. Numbers don’t define people’s actions, that sounds insane. However, it’s people choosing their own actions in this case (in real numerology your number is based on your birthdate (I’m a six, what are you?) and their choices reflect themselves. Not concrete, but food for thought


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