The new year has begun, and in the month of January, we continue our now classic column Start Number, this time focusing on Jenson Button’s unique choice of number 22, thanks to bingo and a world title.
Today, we primarily associate the number 22 with Yuki Tsunoda. Year after year, the Japanese driver has been racing with it. He is only the second driver to be a permanent holder of the number, with Button being the first. “An illustrious predecessor,” Tsunoda once said when the topic of racing with 22 came up.
Button embraced the starting number in 2014 when drivers were allowed to choose their ‘own’ number. The Brit drove for McLaren and would ultimately race three seasons with the ‘double two’ on his car. But how did Button come to choose 22? It turns out it has everything to do with bingo and a world title.
“I became world champion in 2009 with number 22,” the Englishman said when announcing his preference. He later provided further explanation via social media. “I have good memories of 22. I look forward to making new memories.”
And what about the bingo? How does that fit in? He had previously tweeted something about two little ducks, with the words quack-quack. This turns out to be a description for the number 22 in bingo: the Brits call it ‘two little ducks!’.
However, Button didn’t have much luck with prizes in terms of bingo. Unlike the first time with 22 in 2009, success in the second period with that number was elusive. It remained the only world title for the Brit, who left the sport at the end of 2016 to make way for Stoffel Vandoorne. He did return once as a reserve driver, but that was it.
