Seven-time Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton says the sport’s clampdown on wearing jewellery during race weekends is “a step backwards”.
Ahead of this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix, F1 Race Director Niels Wittich clarified that any form of body piercing or metal neck chains are prohibited while driving the car.
Drivers and teams were reminded of the relevant section of the International Sporting Code ahead of the round in Australia last month.
However, it was believed that there was a grace period to allow drivers to make arrangements, with the protocol now in place for Miami.
The FIA outlined that there exists a threat of jewellery hindering “both medical interventions as well as subsequent diagnosis and treatment should it be required”.
Hamilton asserted that he planned to continue to wear jewellery, and spoke again of the matter in Miami.
The Briton stated that “it’s almost like a step backwards”, adding that there are “more important causes that we need to be focused on”.
Hamilton said that he has a piercing where “he can’t really explain where it is”, but clarified that it is made of platinum and is not magnetic, meaning he hasn’t had to remove it during MRI scans throughout his career.
The 37-year-old is keen to avoid locking horns with the FIA over the matter and has contacted FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem to discuss the situation.
“It seems unnecessary for us to get into this spat. So I will try to communicate and work with Mohammed [Ben Sulayem]. I’m here to try to be an ally of the sport, of Mohammed and F1.
“As I said, I think we’ve got bigger fish to fry, bigger things to do, more impact to have. So that’s really where I think the focus should be.
“If they stop me, then so be it. We’ve got a spare driver so we’re all ready and prepped for the weekend. There’s lots to do in the city anyway! It’ll be good either way.”
I think that is a very childish response from Hamilton and I would have expected better from him as one of the sport’s senior and respected ambassadors. Not wearing jewellery is a safety issue and is for his own good.
The jumped up little twerp thinks he can make his own rules. It was a huge mistake to give the poisonous toad and his equally obnoxious team principal what they wanted by sacking Masi, as now he expects to get the same response every time he stamps his feet and screams until he’s sick. He claimed Masi was out to get him, and now, with the support of useful idiots like Kravitz, he is claiming the new guys are out to get him, but thisis a situation of his own making, since Masi clearly wasn’t bothered about the jewellry rule. The agitating numpty has a massive chip on his shoulder. If the FIA doesn’t clamp down hard on him now, there’s going to be a hell of a rapid turnover of Race Directors for the foreseeable future.
The problem with F1 is they allow the drivers (and often times, teams) to dictate the sport. A simple race ban would put Hamilton in his place and make him realize just how insignificant his place in F1 is, as we saw during the weekend where Russell replaced him and no one seemed to miss him. Allowing him to race when he is in clear violation of long-standing rules only means FIA/F1 rules are empty threats and in the future drivers will be able to do whatever they want and escape punishment.
In other interviews Hamilton mentioned his nose ring and earrings are not removable, which is a lie. So he isn’t even speaking a word of truth regarding this matter, but rather causing trouble just to cause trouble. I can only assume he is using this as a way to distract people from talking about his poor form this year, which is exposing him as a fraud, much like what has happened to his disgraced friend and fellow senior troublemaker, Vettel.