Nationality
By virtue of being born in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom, Irvine was a British citizen throughout his career. He also held a racing license issued by the National Sporting Authority of the Republic of Ireland. (Drivers are not compelled to obtain their license from their home country.) The FIA's International Sporting Regulations state that drivers competing in FIA World Championships shall compete under the nationality of their passport, rather than that of the National Sporting Authority that issued their racing license, as is the case in other racing series.
This situation created some confusion as to Irvine's nationality when he appeared at podium ceremonies in the Formula One World Championship. At his third podium, a second place for Ferrari at the 1997 Argentine Grand Prix, an Irish Tricolour was mistakenly flown by the race organisers. This led to his family receiving threatening phone calls. Irvine then requested that at subsequent races, a politically neutral shamrock flag be flown, and the non-sectarian Londonderry Air be played to mark a victory. An FIA spokesman said:
| “ | As far as we understand, Irvine has a British passport so the Union Jack should be raised. ... I understand he has a special flag, but our regulations do not allow this. | ” |
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—FIA spokesman Francesco Longanesi. |
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Irvine has self-identified as being Irish:
| “ | But at the end of the day, I’m Irish. I mean, I’ve got a British passport, but if you’re from Ireland, north or south, you’re Irish. And ‘British’ is. . . such a nondescript thing, isn’t it? | ” |
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—1995 interview. |
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Read more about this topic: Eddie Irvine
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