motorsportmania

It has just been announced that all F1 drivers, in addition to having a standard number through their career will also now have the chance to choose a standard name by which they will be known.
This is to avoid confusion of pronunciation in certain crucial media markets where commentators, sponsors and viewers have problems getting their tongues around the names of a number of the drivers on the grid.
This proposal has been accepted by the governing body who also considered the option of not granting a super licence to any driver with more than three syllables in their name or who have identical consecutive letters in their name. This latter proposal was rejected as it would have ruled out such current drivers as Jensen Button whose name is perfectly acceptable.
The proposal that has been accepted is as follows and applied to all race and test drivers employed.
1 – Those drivers who have more than three syllables in their first or surname or have names that resemble a bad draw at Scrabble will be offered a list of acceptable names to choose from. Choice will be in order of seniority in terms of time that a superlicence has been held.
2 – All remaining drivers will be offered, again in seniority order, the opportunity to change their currently acceptable name for one from the list.
3 – Once all drivers have confirmed the name under which they will be known all existing record books will be changed to reflect the new identities.
4 – The selection will take place during the Australian Grand Prix weekend of 2014 and the changes will be announced to the media on the morning of 1st April 2014.

Filed under: Drivers, F1, Teams | Tagged: autoracing, F1, formula one, media, motorsport |