Norris is set to switch from his traditional #4 as soon as this week in post-season testing, with his championship-winning MCL39 to sport the new number.
Speaking with Sky Sport F1, Norris said the decision to run the new number was as much about his team’s success as his own.
“Will it be on the car tomorrow? I think it will be. I want to say yes,” said Norris.
“It’s tradition. It’s there for a reason. It’s there because you can go and try grab it and you can work hard to try and get it.
“For one year, all of us as a team that gets to have a role in McLaren, or my car, will get to wear that with pride.
“It’s all my mechanics, my engineers, everyone that’s part of McLaren gets to have that acknowledgement too.
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“It’s not for me, it’s for them as well. It’s their pride. They put a lot of work and effort into everything.
“So they also get to go ‘we’re number one’. It’s not as cool saying ‘we’re number four’ so they’ll be even happier than I am.”
Norris takes #1 from Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who has campaigned the number since 2022 after taking the first of four consecutive world championships.
Since 2014, drivers have been allowed to pick what number they run. Several drivers have become synonymous with their numbers, like Lewis Hamilton who elected to run #44 instead of #1 after his world championship success.
With Norris to take #1 in 2026, it leaves a question mark over Verstappen who has traditionally campaigned #33 but has flirted with the idea of running #69 or #3 instead.
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