Here's a news item that seems to have slipped by most sites: Coulthard buys Aussie undies for F1 season. Now, I can understand why the F1 greats chose to pass over such an apparently frivolous snippet but I let it through to Formula1Sport for two reasons.
Firstly and most obviously, it's amusing. Underpants are rarely mentioned in the context of F1 but they are guaranteed to raise a laugh. Also, in the dim recesses of my memory there are vague hints that there may have been a driver who always wore the same pair of underpants when racing - a lucky charm. I may be confusing this with Senna's belief that he should always wear a particular nomex suit for luck, but my excuse is that I am old and my memory is not as well organized as it used to be.
Beyond the matter of comedic relief, however, the item raises questions of sponsorship. Is it possible that David has managed to acquire backing from Underdaks and that he is required to announce his preference when interviewed in Australia? Reading his quoted remarks again, I am struck by how much they resemble an endorsemet for the amazing "holeproof" product.
I have not noticed any tiny Underdak tags stitched to his race suit, however. It is entirely possible that David is genuinely so impressed with the underpants that he felt a gratuitous mention worthwhile. And I have no doubt that Underdak will experience a sudden surge in sales figures in the days to come. After all, if they work for a race driver in the extreme conditions in which he plies his trade, they must be more than adequate to the task of cuddling the nether regions of the likes of thee and me.
The whole story illustrates how careful any public figure has to be nowadays. Imagine if David were sponsored by Jockey and then inadvertently mentioned his Underdak preference in an unguarded moment; the response of the sponsor would be justifiably incensed, perhaps even amounting to withdrawal of support. In a small team that could mean the difference between survival and demise - and the driver could find himself in the unemployment line very quickly.
It is no wonder that quite often in after-GP interviews, drivers are seen to be about to remove their caps, only to change their minds as they remember the terms of their advertising contract. The cap must be worn even if you're sweating like a pig underneath it.
There has been some complaint lately in the F1 blogosphere that drivers lack character these days. We all know and understand the corporate demands they have to obey in the modern world but there is more, much more, it seems. Every advertiser wants his piece of flesh and, presuming that David was not inserting a required plug into his comments, it is refreshing to see him so relaxed as to discuss the important matter of underwear. Good on yer, DC!
Now, where can I get some of these remarkable underpants...?