Jewellery, pants stance draws ire

Lewis Hamilton has shown no signs of backing down in the ongoing stand-off with the FIA over wearing jewellery while competing in Formula 1.

The FIA informed drivers at March’s Australian Grand Prix that it would be strictly enforcing the article of the International Sporting Code that bans the wearing of piercing jewellery or neck chains, and made checks part of the pre-race scrutineering declaration by each team for last weekend’s Miami GP.

Hamilton turned up to the press conference on Friday wearing eight rings, three watches (all on different timezones), bracelets and neck chains. “It’s almost like a step backwards, if you think about the steps we’re taking as a sport and the more important issues and causes we need to be focusing on,” he said. “I think we’ve made such great strides as a sport. This is such a small thing.”

This led to talks between Hamilton and FIA medical staff, who explained their safety concerns about wearing jewellery in the car. Hamilton agreed to remove what he could, and was given a two-race exemption for his nose stud, which he cannot easily remove. Asked if he would be taking the nose stud out in Monaco following his two-race exemption, he gave a clear “no” in response.

“I got an exemption here, I’ll get an exemption the rest of the year,” he said. “Wedding rings are allowed.” He also said he would “wear four watches next time”.

Another area of the regulations being enforced more strictly is drivers’ underwear. Sebastian Vettel, who appears on BBC 1’s Question Time broadcast today (Thursday), made light of this by wearing a pair of trunks over his race suit ahead of Friday’s practice running as a “piss take”.