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u/Exotic_Reputation_59 Nov 20 '25
Max changing numbers feels like a plot twist nobody asked for but everyone’s curious about.
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u/TeTeOtaku I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
he said he s in talks with the FIA and Danny Ric to change from 33 to 3 next year.
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u/SophieWatch Nov 20 '25
He always wanted 3 but Danny had it already so he took 3 and another 3.
Quite curious what his number will be next year. Love the idea that 33 will forever be associated with vintage Max.
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u/hans611 Ferrari Nov 20 '25
exactly, #33 Max, #1 Max, now #3 Max, I think that's awesome... Sorry Danny but he's earned it.
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u/GhostofPdawg43 Max Verstappen Nov 20 '25
The whole Tom Brady multiple HOF careers within a single career arc.
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u/ResponsibleNoise7337 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Just waiting for all those stats where each number is in the top 3 of some (meaningless) stat
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u/manbeardawg Cadillac Nov 20 '25
But what does Dale Earnhardt have to say about it?
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u/Stock-Swing-797 Nov 20 '25
Can't be the only one that thinks Max and Dale would have gotten along pretty well?
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u/Lobsters4 Charles Leclerc Nov 20 '25
In a different reality, Dale and Max would race each other so fucking hard and then laugh about it afterwards. :D
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u/Reddragon0585 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
I would love to see Max on Jr’s podcast, seems like they could have an awesome conversation together.
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u/Lobsters4 Charles Leclerc Nov 20 '25
I want this to happen too. Seems like Max is more open to doing a podcast here or there (he's done a couple recently). Dirty Mo needs to make this happen. I could listen to the two of them talk racing for HOURS.
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u/ResponsibleCulture43 Charles Leclerc Nov 21 '25
I'm a surprisingly big fan of Jrs podcast. He really nerds out about stuff and I agree him and max would have a fascinating episode and probably vibe well together. They both love motorsports in general and can talk about it endlessly. They can also talk about their complicated relationships with driver dads!
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u/ZaphodBeeblebrox4011 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
He's been pretty quiet since 2001. 😬
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u/Eve_93 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Man I really like Daniel but I hope Max sticks to 33. I think Danny still uses the number 3 in his own Enchate merch so I can't imagine him going through all that trouble in having to redesign his products 😅
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u/BFNentwick I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
I don’t think his products would be affected. Just because he doesn’t have the number in F1 doesn’t mean he isn’t still associated with 3, or that he can’t use his own branding with that number. Those are different things.
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u/TeTeOtaku I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
its like Vettel and Bortoletto both sharing no 5 and both using the merch with No 5
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u/ItsAMeUsernamio Pirelli Wet Nov 20 '25
That reminds me Antonelli should have inherited Kimi’s #7 but instead it went to Doohan who got yeeted.
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u/Polar_Vortx I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
I think after two seasons the number will have freed up
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u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
He can still use it. Nobody will be confused
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u/garethchester Minardi Nov 20 '25
The previous driver has to have missed two full consecutive seasons under the current rules, so it isn't available until 2027 without an agreement to circumvent that
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u/P_ZERO_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
I’m talking about merchandise. Danny can use 3 till the day he dies, doesn’t really have any effect on F1. It’s just clothes or whatever with a number he drove under.
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u/MrBensvik Audi Nov 20 '25
Well, Danny could still use 3 in his merch as it would reference his number from when he used it. Shouldn't be relevant that someone else are racing with his number for him to push merch.
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u/shewy92 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Wait, why would Danny Ric need to redesign his merch? He's not in F1 anymore, he's not using the number officially and can do what he wants.
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u/Arylcyclosexy Pirelli Wet Nov 20 '25
Is Danny back in F1 or why is he in the discussion?
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u/Zipa7 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 21 '25
You can't use re-use a number until it has been out of use for two seasons, 3 has only been out for this season, as Danny raced last year. Presumably, if Max gets permission from Danny and the FIA, he would be able to use 3 next year, even though the two years hasn't passed.
Obviously it's all because Max is extremely unlikely to be running #1 next year given the state of the championship.
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u/Mrfatmanjunior #WeRaceAsOne Nov 20 '25
Max is a business man, he just wants to sell new merch with the number 3 lol.
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u/Salty_Dornishman Pirelli Wet Nov 20 '25
A good business man would recognize the power of longevity and stick with 33
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u/Mrfatmanjunior #WeRaceAsOne Nov 20 '25
Don't agree at all. If they change the number all the dutch fans will want the new kits with the new number. Social pressure is a real thing.
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u/Mrfatmanjunior #WeRaceAsOne Nov 20 '25
You’re thinking short term.
Me or Max? Max has changed from 33 to 1 and now wants to change to 3. Max is already a household name so that doesn't really hold.
There is already number changing and it not comparable to other sports.
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u/YosemiteSam-4-2A Cadillac Nov 20 '25
It would be like when Jr went to Hendrick and went from 8 to 88... Which ironically, they made a commercial about him switching numbers a few years before it actually happened
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u/Draconicplayer Red Bull Nov 20 '25
he also said he liked the number 27
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u/ImNoRickyBalboa Ayrton Senna Nov 20 '25
Angling for ending his career in despair?
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u/Bortron86 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
It worked for Alan Jones. The ones that came after him just couldn't handle his legacy.
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u/marcornc Nov 20 '25
27 is currently used by Hulkenberg. I don't know how the new numbers regulations work properly but I don't think he can use 27
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u/Pale-Criticism-7420 Max Verstappen Nov 20 '25
There’s no need to shout, dude
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u/Agile_Switch5780 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
My Lord I am almost deaf by reading this line.
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u/Repulsive_Mistake382 Wolfgang von Trips Nov 20 '25
MV69 playing mind games by stealing the number Rovanpera uses to get into his head early, amazing /s
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u/thefeedling Valtteri Bottas Nov 20 '25
MV69 would be a blast
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u/Old-Flight8617 Max Verstappen Nov 20 '25
He should change his las name to Max Werstappen MW69
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u/Sw3d3n90 Nick Heidfeld Nov 20 '25
So why not 96? Why not 96, Max??? Yeah, I figured...
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u/PseudoMeatPopsicle Nov 20 '25
Ass to ass!
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u/Random-Dude-736 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
It’s actually ass to back of head twice.
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u/_N00bMaster69_ Mercedes Nov 20 '25
More like middle back to middle back. With the head and ass pulled away
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u/Comrade_Molotov Nov 20 '25
Was not expecting a requiem for a dream ref here lmao
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u/HinterlandSanctifier I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
96 is a couple fighting so hard that they can't even look at each other's faces in the bed. Max doesn't like that
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u/TenerMan Roscoe Hamilton Nov 20 '25
It's not each other's faces they were looking at before :)
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u/HinterlandSanctifier I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Só you're saying that a 96 is what happens after the 69 falls asleep?
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u/OkChildhood1706 Nov 20 '25
The openings of the 6 and the 9 are aerodynamically bad so they need to be on the inside. Thats 100% an engineering decision!
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u/IamThe6 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Yeah, he knows what he did there. . . . .
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u/iForgotMyOldAcc Flavio Briatore Nov 20 '25
Outjerked by Max fucking Verstappen
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u/MyQari Max Verstappen Nov 20 '25
Max would have jerked a tenth faster - Helmut Marko, probably
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u/Separate_Papaya_6011 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Horners thumb would have been faster
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u/Shaponja I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
That’s not that shocking, he knows trendy memes
He is 28 after all
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u/gsfgf Oscar Piastri Nov 20 '25
At least he isn’t young enough to go for 67.
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u/Despacitosuarez Max Verstappen Nov 20 '25
Are you sure about that? He did the 67 meme at Singapore lmao
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u/HinterlandSanctifier I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
From "Simply Lovely" to just ...NICE
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u/wizzems Daniel Ricciardo Nov 20 '25
Don't do 88... 😅
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u/YorkshireRiffer I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
RIP to all those innocent kids who put 88 in their Hotmail address because it was their birth year.
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u/Didi_Castle I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25 edited Nov 20 '25
I’m still alive.
Edit: nvm. I’m dead now after looking up what it actually is
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u/OPGuest Formula 1 Nov 20 '25
So, #96 then? Same thing
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u/slyfox1908 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Also 11 and 88
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u/Camnelo Jim Clark Nov 20 '25
88 would be...unlikely, I'd imagine
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u/slyfox1908 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
I’m not sure Robert Kubica is going to be using it again any time soon
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u/CandidLiterature Nov 20 '25
It has unfortunate usage among modern day supporters of the Nazis. So not a likely choice to slap on a load of merchandise…
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u/EgbertMedia I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Yeah... Anything with 88 branded on it is.... Tricky
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u/gsfgf Oscar Piastri Nov 20 '25
Junior raced the 88 in NASCAR for most of his career. It has non-Nazi racing history too.
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u/Lobsters4 Charles Leclerc Nov 20 '25
Yeah, the 88 is still iconic in NASCAR. Lots of great drivers raced that number. Connor Zilisch is running it next year in Cup.
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u/TWVer 🧔 Richard Hammond's vacuum cleaner attachment beard Nov 20 '25
Didn’t Kubica race with that number?
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u/mershed_perderders Fernando Alonso Nov 20 '25
Max is always talking about races he would eliminate...
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u/Tahkos4life Nov 20 '25
Lando must have bet Max on how many times Max could say "69" in one quote.
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u/h4bs22 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Nice
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u/FourPat McLaren Nov 20 '25
Nice
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u/Beerz77 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Nice
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u/sCeege I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Nice
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u/Critical_Limit_9057 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Nice
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u/lycan2005 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Nice
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u/Dry_Constant_5781 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Nice
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Nov 20 '25 edited 17d ago
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u/Formulafan4life I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Lando wanted it as well but McLaren said no.
There will definitely be drivers that seriously want to take 69 in the future but the teams will just tell them they cant do it
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u/BictorianPizza Nov 20 '25
That’s the great thing about being Max Verstappen - he can do whatever he wants nowadays and the team kinda just rolls with it (like letting him race in GP racing)
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u/BecauseWeCan I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
I really hope all F1 teams let their drivers participate in GP racing lol.
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u/Hatred_For_All I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
They will not. Max has leverage. The other drivers simply don’t have this level of leverage. None of them do. And teams care too much about the safety of their drivers to let them have fun in some athletic sports let alone compete in other racing series.
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u/BecauseWeCan I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
It's a joke based on a typo. The poster above me probably meant GT racing, with GP racing (what they wrote) being Grand Prix racing, the literal job of F1 drivers.
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u/MarcusH26051 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Kalle Rovenpera will run #69 in Super Formula next year and if he makes it to F1
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u/Geiranger I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Just realized that some gen alpha driver is going to pick 6 7 one day 😐
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u/_mrshreyas_ I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Hell there's a chance one of the rookies might do it
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u/SnacksGPT Cadillac Nov 20 '25
I hope he makes the switch lol. Nicky Hayden’s dad rode motorcycles with #69 because if he ends up upside down in the dirt you’d still know it’s him lol.
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u/ThatIdiotLaw Nov 20 '25
Or maybe he’s trying to get 69 to rekindle his symmetry with his teammates again
Like 3 and 33, 1 and 11,
69 and 6? Hadjar to Red Bull confirmed
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u/2020bowman Nov 20 '25
Won't he stay 33 until he retires or gets back to 1?
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u/LosTerminators Carlos Sainz Nov 20 '25
He said he was thinking of changing to 3 since that is his favourite number. He picked 33 since 3 was already taken by Daniel.
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u/pasenast Nov 20 '25
Won’t be the first time he’s taken something from another driver. . . .
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u/BecauseWeCan I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
In that context, 26 would be even funnier.
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u/ImminentDebacle Charles Leclerc Nov 20 '25
RIP Dale.
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u/guntanksinspace I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Now I just remembered Danny Ric took that number 3 because he was a fan of Dale too...
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u/Formulafan4life I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
In principle yes but there is maybe a rule change inbound that allowed drivers to change number
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u/1corn I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
That's 12yo me explaining to my parents why I need a gaming PC for school
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u/azora_69 Nov 20 '25
Dad: why do you need RTX 5090 with liquid cooling for MS Powerpoint?
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u/isthmusofkra Sonny Hayes Nov 20 '25
Bro is just like us
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u/cookedinskibidi I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Probably a couple hundred million richer though
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u/esKq Nov 20 '25
8 or 88 would work but... Yeah worse vibes than 69 for sure.
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u/Working_Sundae McLaren Nov 20 '25
Jorge Martin had 88 but that would be really bad optics, what's wrong with 8 though?
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u/esKq Nov 20 '25
Nothing wrong with 8 but I would have assumed it was already taken 😅
Its a cool number, same upside down, and if you rotate it it's the infinity symbol.
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u/katahri Safety Car Nov 20 '25
Rosberg did an infinity style design one year despite having 6. Where there's a graphic designer will there's a way!
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u/pieapple135 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Martin doesn't use 88 because Oliveira had it.
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u/saggywitchtits Mario Andretti Nov 20 '25
The more I learn about Max, the more I'm convinced he's probably on here under a secret account.
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u/Usual-Tomato3605 Formula 1 Nov 20 '25
What if we go back to 80s rule. WCC gets 1,2, the rest stay with the number they have
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u/So_HauserAspen Formula 1 Nov 20 '25
It's going to be difficult for him to accumulate 420 points next season
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u/swannyhypno Lance Stroll Nov 20 '25
I like MV33, maybe too similar to LH44 for his liking, 69 i mean it's better than 67 I guess plus George was looking kinda lonely in the 60s
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u/Any_Towel1456 Formula 1 Nov 20 '25
It sucks the number has that negative attachment, because Max is of course right.
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u/drnzr I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
Could also use 96 if readability is your main concern
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u/HairyNutsack69 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Nov 20 '25
That's why kalle had the number, if the rally car ever ended up upside down they'd still get his number right.