For quite awhile Eddie Jordan was the face-furriest man in F1 with his goatee. Eventually Paul Stoddart and his beard entered the picture. Then there was Bobby Rahal and Dr. Mario Theissen with their mustaches, but those haven't been fashionable in years, though I must say Mario's is a very pleasant mustache in a Ned Flanders sort of way. However, these were team principals and engine guys... not actual drivers. Sure, every now and then a driver would show up unshaven, but nobody has had a dedicated beard for a long time.
Last year DC started sporting a light salt and pepper goatee, which was a step in the right direction, yet he kept it too neat. Still, it is progress. This year Nick Heidfeld brought an actual beard to the track and has kept it all year.
Even though it isn't a great beard like those of the 1970's, it is still a beard none the less. Patchy and thin as it is, I respect it. However, it looks as though Jenson Button has been sticking with some facial hair, maybe even considering taking the fight to Quick Nick. While Button's beard is more in the vein of a goatee with a chin strap, it can still be considered a beard. I feel that if he sticks with it over the winter and lets it grow in a bit further that by the start of the 2008 season he could replace Heidfeld as the ultimate beard in Formula One. The only thing to consider are the wild cards who currently are not sporting facial hair and are always clean shaven. For all we know a Jarno Truli or Rubens Barrichello or even the young Nico Rosberg could show up with a mane of beard and wow us all shaming Nick and Jenson so badly that they shave theirs!
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