Talking to the Melbourne's The Age newspaper, the FIA president insisted that Formula 1 should take NASCAR's example when it comes to identifying a driver by a number. What that means is that each racer should pick a number when he debuts in the Great Circus and stick with it through his entire career, no matter if he becomes world champion – which enforces the No 1 race number on his car – or not.
“Like in NASCAR ... a driver who is arriving in Formula One, he gets a number. He would keep it for all of his career. You could identify a driver with a number,” said Todt, according to the aforementioned source.
“At the moment, you don't find the number, you don't find the name,” he added.
In NASCAR, there are several examples of drivers who have stuck with their race numbers throughout their career, and the fans find it easier to indentify them regardless of the car livery or new team. Jeff Gordon (#24), Jimmie Johnson (#8) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88) are only a few examples that come to one's mind.
In F1 however, the rule is that the race numbers are appointed by the positions in the constructors' and drivers' classifications a year before. Furthermore, Todt admitted that the teams are not very keen on implementing a NASCAR-style change in that direction, as it would alter the space used by the teams for their sponsorship schemes.
“I don't have the power without creating unnecessary conflict to change something I'm not happy (about),” added the Frenchman. “You need to have some strong ground for changing. You need to have a minimum of positive opinion among the group in Formula One. (...) So far, unfortunately, they are not interested, they are quite happy.”
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