Who was the first to drop it, and why? It seems like a tradition that should stand.
The old number system would swap the team numbers with the driver that won the title so they got 27 and 28 from Williams. There was no other reason to change numbers so they would just stick with the same numbers for many years. The FIA changed the system in the 90's to reflect how the team did the previous year with the exception of using the number 13. The only way Ferrari could get that number back with the current system would be to have another 3 new teams and come last
Did you know Enzo tried to remove nº 27 from the grid after gilles death? But the Fisa didn´t alow it.
Fear of number 13 is officially called "triskaidekaphobia". Its origins are unclear, but possibly in ancient Babylon. Its not universal through Europe: it does not work in Italy, for instance, where the feared number is "17". And actually, almost the same number of people in Europe consider "13" as a good luck omen than a bad luck one; bids are very numerous on the national lotteries for a day numbered "13", and especially if that day is a Friday... Of course, as I am sure you know, in Asia the "bad luck number" it is not "13", but "4". Rgds
I believe it has to do with the finishing order in the championship. when Schumacher came to Ferrari he brought #1 with him, and then after that year they were 3&4 etc.... I think Ferrari's race numbers is a bit archaic but starting around 75 - 76 it got a bit more standardized. Lauda was 12, Reggazoni 11... that held thru 1979, 80 they were 1&2, and becuase of the horrible year in 80, they got numbers 27 & 28 - from Williams who won the championship the year before.... 27 was immortalized when Gilles Villeneuve died at Zolder in the Ferrari 126C2 ( one of my top 3 fav F-1 Cars)
Most hotels I go to in the US, will also not have a room 13, go to each floor, and it jumps past it.(Floor 1, 111, next odd room is 115, floor 2, goes from 211 , then next room is 215, etc) Buildings with more than 13 thirteen levels, also skip 13, going from 12 to 14. I didn't know the FIA did this with F1, lol.
Some airlines don't have a row 13. I was on an AirTran flight yesterday and noticed that. I've seen the #13 row on others, though. Edit: Oddly enough, AirTran has rows 1-3 as business class on the 717 and then jumps to row 10 for coach. Not sure why, but they need to start learning how to number rows, haha. Since when did rows 4-9 become unlucky.
Loved that era, Tyrrells No. 3 and 4, Ligiers #25 and 26, Renaults # 15 and 16, Loti # 11 and 12..............
Interestingly other sports in the states and Europe do allow numbers to be retired for various reasons, even tho with the current system the likelihood of 27 returning is low it would be nice gesture for the FIA to do this considering they made a podium of champions for some of the races this year. In Italy 13 is actually considered a lucky number. Similar situation in China tho their unlucky number is 4 so it's rare for apartment building to have no4 or floor 4. Locally that's how you know if the building was built by Chinese developers There has been talk to bring numbers in the same style as NASCAR, MotoGP or football where the driver picks a number and keeps it for their career (while keeping no1 exclusive for the champion). It's much easier to market someone that has a number attached to them (especially if they have a habit of changing teams a lot) then trying to build a brand on name recognition alone. The numbers on the cars have gotten so small you need to use the T-CAM colour system or helmets just to recognise the driver. If they can get Vettels helmet to sparkle @ Singapore then they can use the same technology with the numbers or use LED's.
In malaysia, for example, the Chinese fear number 4 a lot. Which is why lifts are labelled as 13A rather than 14.
