Champion Vettel to race number 5 in F1 career

Jan.11 (GMM) F1's governing body on Friday revealed the race numbers drivers on the 2014 grid have picked for the rest of their Grand Prix careers.

World champion Sebastian Vettel will carry the coveted number 1 for the fourth consecutive season, but he has selected 5 - made famous by Nigel Mansell's 'red 5' - for the remainder of his time in Formula One.

Many of the race numbers had already been divulged by drivers through their social media pages or via the media, but curiously Lotus' Venezuelan Pastor Maldonado has plumped for 13 -- considered unlucky by many and not seen in F1 for years.

Also curiously, the FIA marked Lotus' entire place on the 2014 entry list as "subject to confirmation", just days after the Enstone based team said it will be sitting out the opening test of the pre-season late this month.

McLaren's Jenson Button will carry number 22, resembling "two little ducks", as he did in 2009 when he won the title with Brawn GP.

"Quack quack!" he told his 1.6 million Twitter followers.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured F1's iconic number 27, while Adrian Sutil will carry 99 on his car and helmet.

Like Lotus, Marussia's place on the 2014 is "subject to confirmation", as is Max Chilton's race number.

The full entry list can be seen here