Drivers parade on the track at the 2018 Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia, March 25, 2018. Photo: Xinhua/Bai Xuefei

Canadian Formula One rookie Nicholas Latifi has made the call and will race with the number six on his car in a nod to the telephone area code of his home city Toronto.

Latifi, this season's sole rookie driver, explained his choice on Twitter in a video posted by his Williams team on Monday.

"I decided to choose number six. So the reason I chose this is because I'm from Toronto and Toronto is known as 'The Six,' basically because if you're from there your area code for your phone number is either 416 or 647," he said.

"It's a bit silly, but that kind of stuck, so I decided to choose that."

The number previously belonged to 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg, who retired from Formula One days after his title success with Mercedes. A driver keeps his number throughout his F1 career but they become available again two entire seasons after they were last used.

The new season starts in Australia on March 15.