Should The Drivers Take Part For UK?

[cynisca]

To all who has the nationality of the United Kingdom. In the Formula One the drivers from UK take part for UK but what do you think if the drivers take part for England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?

Some stats about UK drivers in the Formula One:
UK drivers took part at 789 Grand Prixs.
UK drivers scored 4,558.28 points.
UK drivers won 201 races.
UK drivers led 383 races.
UK drivers drove 184 fastest laps.
UK drivers had 196 pole positions.
UK drivers won 13 world titles.
It has been 155 drivers who took part at the Formula One.
There has never been a season without UK drivers.

[Sonic]

No I want British drivers to stay just that......British.

Although ITV always used to say "Scot David Coulthard" when he had lost, and "British Driver David Coulthard" when he was winning :rolleyes:

[Brown, Jon Brow]

No I want British drivers to stay just that......British.

Although ITV always used to say "Scot David Coulthard" when he had lost, and "British Driver David Coulthard" when he was winning :rolleyes:

Ahhh that old nut shell. That has never happened really, has it? ;)

[Rusty Spanner]

I haven't got the slightest interest in which country a driver or team represents. Its just not important to me.
Personally I feel the playing of the national anthems for the winning driver and team seems just a little out of place. The sport is a competition between individuals and teams not countries. The drivers race to win for themselves not their country and teams are so multinational in their workforce it doesn't seem an appropriate fit for them either.

[Mark]

I haven't got the slightest interest in which country a driver or team represents. Its just not important to me.
Personally I feel the playing of the national anthems for the winning driver and team seems just a little out of place. The sport is a competition between individuals and teams not countries. The drivers race to win for themselves not their country and teams are so multinational in their workforce it doesn't seem an appropriate fit for them either.

While I prefer to support a driver from my home country - Britain. I must admit you are right, drivers are individuals competing for works teams, Nationality is not a factor.

While I prefer to support a driver from my home country - Britain. I must admit you are right, drivers are individuals competing for works teams, Nationality is not a factor.

Technically, Britain is not a country. It's a collective of countries.

[V12]

I don't see why not, since the UK is technically the country we represent.

In football (and rugby) we are split up into the four "Home Nations" for historical purposes. If football was founded today as a worldwide sport I'm sure we would be represented as the UK but originally international football was basically home nation vs. home nation, long before FIFA came into being.

[big_sw2000]

Being Welsh, and a huge rugby fan.
I would like to stand on the podium listening to the Welsh national anthem.
But from a motorsport point of view, the English, or in this case the British Athem, always brings a tear to my eye, from Jaguar winning at Le Mans.
But im not going to stop supporting Jenson Button, just because hes the old enemy English.
As far as im consernd, we are Brits and lets surpport our home drivers. Even Hamiliton

[UltimateDanGTR]

I think the nationality thing is good, although the sport is about teams and individual drivers etc, national pride is a big factor in F1, as in any sport. I mean look at Ferrari, Seems to me very nationalistic pride from italy.

And I think drivers being classed as British, because we are the UNITED Kingdom, and we are all exactly that, United. Although I wouldnt object to playing the welsh or scottish national anthem if a welsh or scottish driver wins a race and wants it, they should be able to decide actually. same goes for northern island.

Just in a matter of interest, who was the last welsh F1 driver? No offence to my friends from Wales, but I cant seem to remember the last one. :confused:

[V12]

I think the nationality thing is good, although the sport is about teams and individual drivers etc, national pride is a big factor in F1, as in any sport. I mean look at Ferrari, Seems to me very nationalistic pride from italy.

I agree about nationality being a big thing and so it should be. While there's no place for outright nasty Xenophobia, and no place IMO for A1GP-style teams based solely around a nationality, getting behind a driver (or in some cases, team) from your own country is a perfectly natural thing to do. Back in the days of Hill vs Schumacher there was very much a sense of England vs Germany at times, and while sometimes it overstepped the mark (i seem to remember one time a Schumacher supporter's tour bus apparently got vandalised with swastikas at Silverstone), usually it was a bit light hearted, 1966 and all that :cool:


Just in a matter of interest, who was the last welsh F1 driver? No offence to my friends from Wales, but I cant seem to remember the last one. :confused:

Tom Pryce (1974-77) is certainly the most well known, to be honest I can't think of any others off the top of my head that have come since him, although I may be wrong.

Tom Pryce (1974-77) is certainly the most well known, to be honest I can't think of any others off the top of my head that have come since him, although I may be wrong.

Nobody since.

[UltimateDanGTR]

I agree about nationality being a big thing and so it should be. While there's no place for outright nasty Xenophobia, and no place IMO for A1GP-style teams based solely around a nationality, getting behind a driver (or in some cases, team) from your own country is a perfectly natural thing to do. Back in the days of Hill vs Schumacher there was very much a sense of England vs Germany at times, and while sometimes it overstepped the mark (i seem to remember one time a Schumacher supporter's tour bus apparently got vandalised with swastikas at Silverstone), usually it was a bit light hearted, 1966 and all that :cool:



Tom Pryce (1974-77) is certainly the most well known, to be honest I can't think of any others off the top of my head that have come since him, although I may be wrong.

erm, I know I shouldnt laugh, but........


and Tom Pryce being the last welsh F1 driver, blimey, its been the scots english and irish since. and before. :)

[emporer_k]

I don't really think nationality is important in f1.

If the drivers were to take part for their individual country of the UK then would the British grand prix become the English grand prix?

[Sonic]

And we'd host the Scot GP at Knockhill!!!! :D

[big_sw2000]

Tom Pryce was the last Welsh F1 ddriver. He was also a great rally driver in his time, driving the Checkard flag Lancia Stratos many times in Britain.
Probley the most unlucky f1 driver to be killed in a crash, wrong place wrong time.

[Tazio]

England needs a female F1 pilot named Boudica ;)

[inimitablestoo]

I think the FIA would rule it out anyway, as it only recognises Britain as a whole; remember the political hoo, and indeed hah, over the "Turkish Cypriot" politician at the Turkish GP a couple of years back? Not quite the same thing admittedly, but the FIA does like to play things by the book as regards nationalities.

Except when you get curios such as Austrian GP2 driver Andreas Zuber being credited as being from the UAE because that's where his license is from, of course... :crazy:

[cynisca]

I think why not?!
Do you remember Eddie Irvine? He was the last and the best Northern Irish driver in the Formula One. He became second in 1999 and had the chance to win the world title. And I think it makes more proud if Eddie Irvine had won the title for Northern Ireland instead for UK. Don't get me wrong! Northern Ireland is a little country who had got probably a world champion.

[ChrisS]

A drivers nationality in F1 comes from the association that issued the superlicense and there is only one UK sporting association recognized by the FIA, there is no English, Welsh,... sporting association.

Also a driver can get a superlicense either from the country of citizenship or from the country of residence. For example Doornbos raced as a Monegasque in 2005

[V12]

While we're on the subject of...vague nationalities, does anyone know what the deal with Bertrand Gachot (1989-95) was? Usually he appeared as a Belgian, sometimes as a Frenchman, and sometimes he raced with the European flag on his car!

[cynisca]

While we're on the subject of...vague nationalities, does anyone know what the deal with Bertrand Gachot (1989-95) was? Usually he appeared as a Belgian, sometimes as a Frenchman, and sometimes he raced with the European flag on his car!

Good question. To be honest I don't know which nationality he prefers. Some sources say Belgium, France and even Luxembourg, but the most of my sources say France. The funniest thing is my Formula One encyclopedia says both, French and Belgian. :confused: I hope I could you help a little bit. :p :

[52Paddy]

Personally myself, and being definitely biased, I hate to see drivers from Northern Ireland classed as British. There have been a handful of Northern Irish drivers in the past, most notably Eddie Irvine and John Watson. Both were classed as British many times. I'm not sure what Watson's view on that was, but Irvine certainly considered himself Irish in an interview many years ago. This led to a discrepancy over which flag to raise. His racing licence was Irish, but his passport was British.

Adam Carroll is a more recent example of a Northern Irish racing driver. His stints with the Irish A1GP team would surely assure him a tricolour flag if he ever makes an F1 break.

[Tazio]

While we're on the subject of...vague nationalities, does anyone know what the deal with Bertrand Gachot (1989-95) was? Usually he appeared as a Belgian, sometimes as a Frenchman, and sometimes he raced with the European flag on his car!

DRIVERS: BERTRAND GACHOT
Name: Bertrand Gachot
Nationality: France
Date of birth: December 23, 1962 - Luxembourg


http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-gacber.html

Good question. To be honest I don't know which nationality he prefers. Some sources say Belgium, France and even Luxembourg, but the most of my sources say France. The funniest thing is my Formula One encyclopedia says both, French and Belgian. :confused: I hope I could you help a little bit. :p :

He raced with a Belgian licence and had a Belgian passport, but was born in Luxembourg to a French father and a German mother.

"Bertrand Gachot was born in Luxembourg on 23rd December 1962 to a French father and German mother, although he has lived most of his life in Brussels, Belgium, where he grew up and was educated"

http://www.pacificgrandprix.com/aboutbg.html

Since Pacific Grand Prix employed him, I'd take that as definite.

I remember him racing in British F3 and being registered as a Belgian driver.

[Tazio]

In terms of Nationality

JEAN-DENIS DELETRAZ (CH) - DRIVER
(CH) indicates Switzerland

ANDREA MONTERMINI (I) - DRIVER
(I) indicates Italy

BERTRAND GACHOT (F) - DRIVER
(F) Indicates France

http://www.pacificgrandprix.com/aboutbg.html

The middle picture on this page...

http://www.skyscraperpicture.com/f1pictures/gachot.htm

....shows a Belgian flag on the car next to his name (I think that's a Reynard 88D Formula 3000 car)....and there's also an EU flag on his helmet!

I think he's confused as to his real identity.

There's a film in this....the Gachot Identity. Sadly, due to a lack of talent, the sequel the Gachot Supremacy was never made.

[Tazio]

The middle picture on this page...

http://www.skyscraperpicture.com/f1pictures/gachot.htm

....shows a Belgian flag on the car next to his name (I think that's a Reynard 88D Formula 3000 car)....and there's also an EU flag on his helmet!

I think he's confused as to his real identity.

There's a film in this....the Gachot Identity. Sadly, due to a lack of talent, the sequel the Gachot Supremacy was never made.

Above: Bertrand Gachot at the wheel of his Onyx during his home Grand Prix in 1989 (left),
VVVVVVV This is Spa! So at least "someone" considers Belgium his home ;)
http://www.skyscraperpicture.com/f1pictures/gachot.htm

[Mark in Oshawa]

All I know is us Canadians never looked at the Villeneuves as anything BUT Canadian, although many in Quebec seem to think English Canadian drivers are to always finish BEHIND any French drivers.

We go through this sort of thing because it amuses someone in Quebec to keep trying to claim some independent status while sucking money out of the rest of the country.

The Villeneuves however were good guys, classy guys and always had a Canadian flag on their uni, along with the Quebec Fleur de Lys. If I was living in the UK, I wouldn't be offended by the drivers honourning their nation (Scotland, N.Ireland, Wales, England) or going as drivers from the UK with a Union Jack. We all know the reality of where they come from, where they pay their taxes and what they call home. No one who ever heard Colin McRae speak or Eddie Irvine speak was going to ever accuse them of being English....