Hamilton will be fined if he wears jewellery during Monaco GP: FIA
MONACO: World’s motorsports regulating body FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has said that the seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton will be fined from competing in the Monaco Grand Prix if he fails to stop wearing jewellery during the race.
Hamilton has urged the FIA to relax their strict rulings against drivers wearing body piercings and neck chains while competing at the race in Florida last weekend, which FIA had turned down.
F1 has already made the rules for drivers wearing jewellery for several years now, but it’s only this year the FIA has appeared to stamp down on those regulations.
Ben Sulayem has now spoken publicly for the first time on the jewellery ban being enforced by the FIA. And, while the FIA president stopped short of saying whether Hamilton would be banned from driving in Monaco, he did confirm that fines will be issued.
“That’s up to him. There are fines that apply,” Ben Sulayem was quoted as saying by Daily Mail.
“It’s like if someone speeds on the roads you can’t stop them doing it but they get fined, even if it was accidental,” he said.
During the Miami race, Hamilton claimed it felt like a ‘step backward’ for the sport.
“It seems unnecessary to get into this. I am here to be an ally of the sport, we have bigger fish to fry,” he had said.
Hamilton achieved four race-wins in the season as he finished fourth in the standings. Before the end of the year.
Meanwhile, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, F1 announced the cancellation of the Sochi Grand Prix, as well as the grand prix’s contract, on September 25.
It has let a void on the initial 23-race calendar that F1 was hoping to fill with a return to Qatar, where the Losail International Circuit hosted the sport’s first grand prix last year.
Qatar has agreed to host a grand prix for the next ten years, beginning in 2023, with this year’s race being postponed due to the FIFA World Cup. However, it has emerged as a strong contender to replace the canceled Russia race, kicking off the triple-header that will take Formula One to Singapore and Japan.
However, according to Motorsport.com, due to uncertainty from the event organisers in Qatar, other options have been considered, including running two races in Singapore.
The idea has been discussed with Singapore promoters, who may run the two races on consecutive weekends at Marina Bay Street Circuit at slightly different times of day, with one starting at dusk and the other starting at 8pm for a full night race. The Sakhir Grand Prix, which took place in Bahrain at the end of 2020, started a few hours later than the Bahrain Grand Prix, which took place a week earlier.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Singapore has not hosted a grand prix since 2019, but it has recently reopened to tourists, and plans are underway for F1 to return on the scheduled 2 October weekend.
F1 remains commited to completing its record-breaking 23-race calendar this year, with Singapore being one possible replacement for Russia if a deal with Qatar cannot be reached.