“If they stop me, let them do it” : the seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton assured, Friday, May 6, that he would not remove his jewels as requested by the pilots of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), even if it meant missing the Grand Prix of Miami disputed this weekend.
“We have reserve drivers so we are ready and prepared for the weekend. There is a lot to do in this city so I will be fine either way.”quipped the Briton at a press conference, clad in his rings, necklaces, earring, nose piercing, and no less than three watches around his wrists, aligned with different time zones.
Miami ☀️ pic.twitter.com/Hx0tLcYTBX
—Lewis Hamilton (@LewisHamilton) May 6, 2022
If the ban on wearing jewelry on board single-seaters was introduced in 2005 as a security measure, it has never really been applied by the pilots. But this season, the new FIA race director, Niels Wittich, decided to tighten the screw to enforce it. A first reminder in this sense was made during the Australian GP in early April, the third round of the season.
“The wearing of jewelry in the form of piercings or metal chains around the neck is prohibited during the competition and can therefore be checked before the start”, he recalled on the sidelines of the Miami GP. And to justify: “Wearing jewelry during competition can impede medical interventions as well as subsequent diagnosis and treatment if needed following an accident.”
Welcome to the @F1 @cryptocom Miami Grand Prix!
Gates are officially OPEN at @HardRockStadium! pic.twitter.com/8Uva8EYrpd
— F1 Miami Grand Prix (@f1miami) May 6, 2022
“We have made such progress as a sport (…) I have been playing this sport for sixteen years. I have been wearing jewelry for sixteen years”regretted the Mercedes driver, who assures that “in the car, I only have my earrings and my nose piercing, which I can’t even take off”.
If the measure does not delight Hamilton, who also says he is ready to sign a discharge to continue to be able to wear his jewels, he nevertheless judges “no need to get into a quarrel”. “I will try to communicate and work with Mohammed (Ben Sulayem, the president of the FIA, Editor’s note), I’m here to be an ally of the sport, of Mohammed and of F1 and I think we have other fish to fry — things to do, and an impact to make, so that’s where we need to be focus”he continued.
According to the specialized site Motorsport.com, the driver agreed for this weekend to remove all the jewelry he could remove – and received an exemption until the Monaco GP at the end of May to comply with the regulations.