F1 entry list confirms new driver numbers, Force India name change

The FIA has released the first draft of the Formula 1 entry list for the 2019 season, confirming the number selections for the newcomer drivers and a couple of name tweaks for the teams.

Lando Norris, George Russell, Antonio Giovinazzi, Robert Kubica and Alexander Albon will all join the grid next year, with all but one of their selections being made public on Friday.

McLaren driver Norris will use #4, last used in F1 by Max Chilton in 2014, while Russell will race with #63 when he makes his F1 debut for Williams in Australia.

Sauber’s Antonio Giovinazzi will race with #99, having used the team’s standby number, #36, during his two-race stint as a substitute for Pascal Wehrlein in 2017.

Racing for the first time in F1 since the end of 2010, Robert Kubica will use #88, most recently used by Rio Haryanto. Albon is listed as ‘TBC’, having only been announced by Toro Rosso on Monday.

The publication of the entry list for 2019 also confirmed that Racing Point Force India will drop ‘Force India’ from its name, marking the disappearance of the name after 10 years on the grid. This comes following the takeover of the old Force India operation by the Racing Point UK consortium in August.

After launching the new ‘Mission Winnow’ scheme with Philip Morris International in October, Ferrari’s official entry name has changed to ‘Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow’ for 2019, while Haas F1 Team will be known as ‘Rich Energy Haas F1 Team’ following the title sponsorship agreement signed last month.

Finally, Williams has changed its name to ‘Williams Racing’ after its title sponsorship agreement with Martini came to an end in 2018.

FIA FORMULA 1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2019 – ENTRY LIST

#44 Lewis Hamilton GBR Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport 
#77 Valtteri Bottas FIN Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport 

#5 Sebastian Vettel GER Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 
#16 Charles Leclerc MON Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow 

#10 Pierre Gasly FRA Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
#33 Max Verstappen NED Aston Martin Red Bull Racing 

#3 Daniel Ricciardo AUS Renault F1 Team 
#27 Nico Hulkenberg GER Renault F1 Team

#8 Romain Grosjean FRA Rich Energy Haas F1 Team 
#20 Kevin Magnussen DEN Rich Energy Haas F1 Team 

#4 Lando Norris GBR McLaren F1 Team
#55 Carlos Sainz Jr. ESP McLaren F1 Team 

#11 Sergio Perez MEX Racing Point F1 Team
#18 Lance Stroll CAN Racing Point F1 Team 

#7 Kimi Raikkonen FIN Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team  
#99 Antonio Giovinazzi ITA Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team 

#26 Daniil Kvyat RUS Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
TBC Alexander Albon THA Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda 

#63 George Russell GBR Williams Racing 
#88 Robert Kubica POL Williams Racing