Are F1 teams superstitious?

[branflakes]

The F1 team list for 2009:

1 Lewis HAMILTON (GB) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES McLAREN MERCEDES
2 Heikki KOVALAINEN (FIN) VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES McLAREN MERCEDES

3 Felipe MASSA (BRA) * SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO FERRARI
4 Kimi RÄIKKÖNEN (FIN) * SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO FERRARI

5 Robert KUBICA (PL) BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM BMW SAUBER
6 Nick HEIDFELD (D) BMW SAUBER F1 TEAM BMW SAUBER

7 Fernando ALONSO (E) ING RENAULT F1 TEAM RENAULT
8 Nelson PIQUET (BR) ING RENAULT F1 TEAM RENAULT

9 Jarno TRULLI (I) PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING TOYOTA
10 Timo GLOCK (D) PANASONIC TOYOTA RACING TOYOTA

11 Sébastien BOURDAIS (F) * SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO STR FERRARI
12 Sébastien BUEMI (CH) * SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO STR FERRARI

14 Mark WEBBER (AUS) RED BULL RACING RBR RENAULT
15 Sebastian VETTEL (D) RED BULL RACING RBR RENAULT

16 Nico ROSBERG (D) AT&T WILLIAMS WILLIAMS TOYOTA
17 Kazuki NAKAJIMA (J) AT&T WILLIAMS WILLIAMS TOYOTA

18 Adrian SUTIL (D) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM FORCE INDIA MERCEDES
19 Giancarlo FISICHELLA (I) FORCE INDIA F1 TEAM FORCE INDIA MERCEDES

20 Jenson BUTTON (GB) BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM BRAWN MERCEDES
21 Rubens BARRICHELLO (BR) BRAWN GP FORMULA ONE TEAM BRAWN MERCEDES

( source )

No number 13?

[deevlash]

yahoo answers said:

Here's my answer to the same Q from a month ago:

Only 3 drivers have ever had number 13 on their car, and then only for one race each:

1 Von STRACHWITZ Mauritz 1953 Germany (failed to qualify)
2 SOLANA Moises 1963 Mexico (retired but classified 11th)
3 GALICA Divina 1976 Britain (failed to qualify)

of course, it's for superstition. Several other drivers have had lucky or unlucky numbers over the years.
In the old days when Tyrrell always had numbers 3+4, they were unable to employ two Japanese drivers (yes, they did consider it!) as the number 4 is unlucky in Japan and no Japanese driver would want it.
Also, in 1958, Ferrari had awful luck, having Peter Collins and Luigi Musso killed while driving car number 2 (race numbers were not fixed for the season then). For the final race of the season in Casablanca, Mike Hawthorn (the last survivor of Ferrari's original trio) found he had also been assigned number 2 and was going to pull out of the race until Olivier Gendebien agreed to swap his number 6.

Nowadays, the driver's champion and his teammate have numbers 1+2. The rest of the numbers are allocated in pairs (jumping from 11+12 to 14+15) to teams in the order they finished in the constructor's championship. A lower number does give a slight advantage in that they have access to a larger pit area at each race.

The numbering system has changed over the years. Originally cars were allocated numbers on a race-by-race basis by lottery or by the order in which teams entries were received. It wasn't until 1969 that the World Champion systematically had the number 1 at every race, although some individual races had adopted the convention several years previously. Even then only the number 1 was fixed, everyone else changed numbers as before.
From 1973 the system became more ordered with teams keeping the same numbers for most races over several years, with occasional exceptions being caused by the entry of a third or fourth car by some teams.
For the 1996 season the concept of allocating numbers based on the teams position in the constructors championship was introduced.

[Teppic]

According to Wikipedia, number 13 hasn't been used since 1976.

As the number 13 is considered unlucky in many cultures, and as F1 is a highly dangerous sport, the FIA probably think that it's best not to tempt fate.

ETA: Damn! Beaten to it!

Edited by Teppic on Monday 23 March 20:54

[skeggysteve]

Far more important is why Ferrari wanted to change the numbers - Massa now number 3 and Kimi number 4.

[FrazM]

Is there anyway we can have Bernie and Max made to wear sandwich boards with number 13 on the front of them and "kick me" on the back????

[deevlash]

skeggysteve said:

Far more important is why Ferrari wanted to change the numbers - Massa now number 3 and Kimi number 4.

its done by the finishing order from the previous year.

[skeggysteve]

deevlash said:

skeggysteve said:

Far more important is why Ferrari wanted to change the numbers - Massa now number 3 and Kimi number 4.

its done by the finishing order from the previous year.

Please look here

It says "Driver number change requested by the team and approved by the FIA."

[Teppic]

deevlash said:

skeggysteve said:

Far more important is why Ferrari wanted to change the numbers - Massa now number 3 and Kimi number 4.

its done by the finishing order from the previous year.

Although that doesn't explain why is Jenson no. 20 and Rubens no. 21 when Rubens finished ahead in the 2008 championship. Jenson should be no. 21...

Edited by Teppic on Monday 23 March 21:51

[deevlash]

skeggysteve said:

deevlash said:

skeggysteve said:

Far more important is why Ferrari wanted to change the numbers - Massa now number 3 and Kimi number 4.

its done by the finishing order from the previous year.

Please look here

It says "Driver number change requested by the team and approved by the FIA."

odd

[Marcia]

Teppic said:

deevlash said:

skeggysteve said:

Far more important is why Ferrari wanted to change the numbers - Massa now number 3 and Kimi number 4.

its done by the finishing order from the previous year.

Although that doesn't explain why is Jenson no. 20 and Rubens no. 21 when Rubens finished ahead in the 2008 championship. Jenson should be no. 21...

Edited by Teppic on Monday 23 March 21:51

Yep just thinking that,that's strange

[Muzzlehatch]

Donington pitlane numbers go: ...11, 12, 12a, 14...

You see lots of this; it's fairly normal in an irrational way.

[lord summerisle]

if you look at the grid markings at Oulton Park, you'll notice for the cars

11 12

12A 14

15 16

tho i dont think the bike grid misses out 13 (will have to look next time i'm on the startline)

[Ganglandboss]

Teppic said:

deevlash said:

skeggysteve said:

Far more important is why Ferrari wanted to change the numbers - Massa now number 3 and Kimi number 4.

its done by the finishing order from the previous year.

Although that doesn't explain why is Jenson no. 20 and Rubens no. 21 when Rubens finished ahead in the 2008 championship. Jenson should be no. 21...

Edited by Teppic on Monday 23 March 21:51

As I understood it the numbers are dictated first by the Drivers' World Champion followed by his team-mate and then the teams in order of their finishing position in the constructors championship. The team assign the lower of their two numbers to the 'first driver', a position decided by the team and not neccessarily the highest finisher of the previous season.