09/01/2014
NEWS STORY
Jenson Button is the latest driver to choose his preferred permanent race number, the McLaren driver opting for 22.
"Two little ducks!!" he tweeted tonight, subsequently adding: "#Jenson22 great memories, looking forward to making a few more. #22WDC2009."
Twenty-two, of course, was the number Button wore during his title winning season with Brawn, the Brackley built car dominating from its pre-season test debut and subsequently winning six of the first seven races, going on to win both despite increasing pressure from Red Bull.
Earlier today, teammate Kevin Magnussen revealed that he wants to use 20, the number with which he won the Formula Renault 3.5 Series title last year, while Daniel Ricciardo wants number 3.
Last week, Romain Grosjean took to Facebook to reveal that his preferred number is 8 - his race number in 2013 - with 29 and 11 his back-up selections. Thus far, nobody else has chosen 8 so the Lotus driver could be lucky, though Kimi Raikkonen and Jules Bianchi are both hoping to get number 7. Grosjean's third choice (11) is the preferred number for Sergio Perez.
In the wake of the FIA's announcement that from this season drivers will be able to select permanent race numbers for the duration of their F1 careers, Fernando Alonso revealed that his preferred option is 14. Nico Rosberg is hoping to use 6, while the first choices of other drivers include 19 (Massa), 25 (Vergne) and 77 (Bottas).
Chris Balfe: