Eddie Irvine wanted to be Irish, had an Irish license, but had to represent Britain. Just like the Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians had to represent Soviet Union.
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At his first podium, a third place for Jordan at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix, the British Union Flag was flown. However, 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."
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?"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Irvine