The FIA’s clampdown on drivers wearing jewellery and non-compliant underwear prompted a mixture of criticism and derision from competitors.
Lewis Hamilton turned up at an FIA press conference in Miami wearing every item of jewellery he could lay his hands on, while Sebastian Vettel briefly sported a pair of boxer shorts on the outside of his overalls before one session.
However Grand Prix Drivers Association chairman Alexander Wurz recently gave his full backing to the FIA’s tough new line. He described how he learned the importance of following the rules after speaking to former sportscar racer Kris Nissen, who was badly burned in a crash in 1988.
Nissen, now 61, told RaceFans he believes strongly that today’s drivers should follow the FIA’s requirements on fireproof clothing. He suffered burns to more than a third of his body when his Porsche 962 sports-prototype car crashed at Fuji and caught fire.
He joined Kremer Racing in 1987, the year after he won the German Formula 3 championship. The team ran Porsche’s all-conquering 962, powered by a twin-turbocharged, three-litre flat-six engine.
Prior to Fuji’s 2005 renovation, its huge 1.4-kilometre main straight was still preceded by a fast corner, and cars reached top speeds well in excess of 320kph (200mph) before braking for the slow first turn. However, during practice at the track on July 22nd, two days after his 28th birthday, Nissen’s Porsche failed to slow.
He remembers little of what happened, but fellow driver Paolo Barilla was standing nearby when the 962 shot past the first turn.
“He told he saw the car basically not braking but continuing,” Nissen explained. “He said ‘the brake lights went on one or two times, like if you are pumping the brake. Then the car disappeared at the end of the straight.’”
The straight had been shortened 14 years earlier for safety reasons. Nissen’s car continued down the track towards the disused former banked…