As a mark of respect to the late Jules Bianchi the FIA has retired his racing number 17 from Formula 1. The FIA’s brief statement follows:
20.07.15 – Jean Todt, President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) announced that the car number 17 will be retired from the FIA Formula One World Championship in honour of Jules Bianchi.
As F1 car numbers are now personally chosen by each driver, the FIA believes it to be an appropriate gesture to retire Jules Bianchi’s number 17.
As a result, this number can no longer be used for a car competing in the FIA Formula One World Championship.