When McLaren were stripped of all their Constructor's points for the 2007 Formula One season due to a spying scandal, they were relegated to the bottom of that year's Constructors' standings. Under FIA rules, McLaren, being the "worst" team in the previous year, would be assigned the final two numbers (22 and 23) for the 2008 season.
A year ago ...
Fernando Alonso was having a clash with rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton on and off the track. The result was a disastrous divorce between two of the best drivers in the world, and McLaren would have to find a replacement for the Spaniard in short notice.
Back in April 2005 ...
The inaugural GP2 season kicked off at Imola, and the first thing they did was to assign numbers to the teams. They decided to do so by running a practice session to assign numbers according to the teams' practice speed. Arden, with Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen on board, was regarded as one of the favourites to land the highly coveted numbers 1 and 2. Alas, gremlins ran riot in Kovalainen's car, which meant that he could not set any competitive times, while his teammate Nicolas Lapierre was not in good form on the day. Eventually, Arden was the second-worst team in the field and was thus assigned with numbers 22 and 23. Despite the "setback", Kovalainen would drive his number 22 car to become the first ever winner of a GP2 race.
Fast forward to 2008 ...
Just weeks before the 2008 Formula One season was to start, Kovalainen was named as the replacement for Alonso, and would drive the number 23 car for the season.
...
In a matter of four years, Kovalainen, through no fault of his own, twice has the "misfortune" of driving for a top team assigned with numbers 22 and 23, unusually high numbers for a top team. In fact, until Hamilton's victory at the season-opening race in Melbourne, no car numbered 22 or 23 has ever won a Formula One race since the current numbering system had been in place.
The moral of the story? Nothing special. It is just another strange coincidence in this big world of sport.
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