- The FIA announced that it would crack down on F1 drivers wearing underwear that wasn't fireproof.
- For Nicholas Latifi, this meant he had to give up his lucky red boxers.
Athletes are a notoriously superstitious bunch, but unfortunately for one Formula One driver, he had to give up his only lucky charm in the name of safety.
Earlier this season, new race director Niels Wittich announced that F1's governing body, the FIA, would start being more strict with what the drivers were wearing in their cars.
Most of the attention focused on Lewis Hamilton, as some wondered if the FIA was singling him out for wearing jewelry. That led to a staredown between the two sides, from which Hamilton eventually backed down. However, the crackdown that affected more drivers was a new concern over the drivers wearing personal underwear that was not fireproof.
According to Williams Racing driver Nicholas Latifi, this brought to a permanent end his only superstition.
"I used to always drive in the same pair of boxer shorts," Latifi said before the United States Grand Prix when asked if he had any superstitions. "But we're not allowed to do that anymore ... So now I have to always wear the same fireproof underwear."
Latifi's lucky underwear wasn't just any underwear, either. Before the 2021 Portuguese Grand Prix, Latifi spoke about the red boxers and their meaning.
"[My aunt] has a thing where every year for Christmas, one of the presents she gets for all her nephews is some red boxers," Latifi said. "Always the Calvin Klein boxers, and we are all supposed to wear them on New Year's for good luck. So I have a large accumulation of red boxers over the years, and I used to always wear one of them on race day."
Latifi said in 2021 that he was no longer wearing them for every race, noting that "some races I was getting bad results ... this probably isn't helping." However, his new comments suggest they were once again a part of his regular race-day wardrobe this season before the FIA started getting strict.
As for other drivers, some might opt not to wear any underwear at all now. This was a point made by Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri in an interview with Sky Sports (via ESPN) after the drivers met with the FIA about the enforcement.
"It was quite a long discussion," said Piastri, who will drive for McLaren next year. "A few people have changed some of their underwear protocols. It's a contentious topic because you're going commando if you're not wearing your own."
Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel even had fun protesting the rule by wearing underwear outside of his firesuit before the Miami Grand Prix.
—Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) May 6, 2022
At the time, AlphaTauri driver Pierre Gasly challenged the FIA to check his underwear before races.
"[If] they want to check my ass, feel free, I have nothing to hide," Gasly said before the Australian Grand Prix. "If they want to check it every single weekend, if that makes them happy, then feel free."
It is unclear if the FIA accepted the challenge.