Hamilton given two races to ditch jewellery
► threat to skip Miami GP is dropped after FIA crisis talks ► mercedes driver handed more time to conform to rules
Lewis Hamilton last night backed down from a threat to skip this weekend’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix over the FIA’S new ban on jewellery after motorsport’s governing body granted him a two-race exemption to remove certain items.
Hamilton, who has always worn jewellery while driving, insisted earlier in the day that he had at least two piercings which he “could not remove”.
And he added that if the FIA insisted on a complete ban then his team had a reserve driver ready to stand in. “There’s lots to do in the city anyway, so it will be good either way,” Hamilton said.
However, following crisis talks between the team and new FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, Hamilton agreed to remove all of the jewellery which he was able to. He still had his nose stud visible as he headed out to first practice but his earrings were gone.
The FIA in turn has granted Hamilton what amounts to a two-race exemption to remove those items which he says he cannot remove. It is understood that if he has not done so by Monaco then he could be subject to a penalty.
To the surprise of many in the sport, Ben Sulayem, who replaced Jean Todt last December, has made jewellery one of the major battlegrounds of his early tenure.
The FIA warned drivers in Australia last month that they had to remove all jewellery and piercings – to which Hamilton responded that they would “have to cut my ear off ” – and the sport’s governing body has now mandated it in Miami, saying checks would form part of pre-race scrutineering. Hamilton suggested yesterday that might prove awkward as one of his pieces of jewellery was in a sensitive place on his body.
“I really don’t know,” Hamilton admitted when asked how the issue might resolve itself. “I can’t remove at least two of them. One I can’t really explain where it is. But what I can say is it’s platinum that I have, so it’s not magnetic. It’s never been a safety issue in the past. I’ve worn [ jewellery] for 16 years, had so many MRI scans and not had to take out the platinum, for example, because it’s not been an issue.
“If they stop me then so be it. We’ve got a spare driver. There’s lots to do in the city anyway so it will be good either way.”
Formula One’s rulemakers argue that metal jewellery is a hazard in the case of a fire. But Hamilton said that he would be prepared to sign a waiver absolving the FIA of any responsibility should he be involved in an accident.
► positive signs as team make changes to beat ‘porpoising’ ► hamilton vows to fight on despite ‘disrespectful’ critics
Only Formula One could head into the most significant grand prix weekend of the year so far – with the great and the good of the celebrity world about to descend on Miami – off the back of a spat between its biggest star and its ruling body over jewellery and underpants.
Lewis Hamilton eventually backed down last night over a dramatic threat to miss tomorrow’s inaugural Miami Grand Prix. But only after crisis talks between his Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and recently elected FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem regarding the governing body’s newly imposed ban on jewellery and nonregulation underwear.
A bizarre day saw Hamilton turn up for the official FIA press conference wearing all the jewellery he could muster, which included eight rings, three watches and a variety of bracelets, necklaces, earrings and nose studs.
The seven-time world champion, clearly in defiant mood, then said that he had been wearing a nose stud and earring his entire career without any issues and did not see why he had to take them off.
He added, not unreasonably, that this seemed a “very, very silly” thing to be arguing over when there were much bigger issues to resolve.
Crisis was only averted when, with first practice fast approaching, Wolff managed to broker a truce of sorts, with Hamilton agreeing to remove all of his jewellery except for the pieces he could not physically remove himself without medical assistance, and the FIA giving the 37-year-old an exemption until Monaco later this month to finish the job. Whether he will do so remains to be seen.
Hamilton will have plenty of support if he does refuse to comply and, instead, takes whatever penalty the FIA decides to issue. Although this ban does feel targeted at him, he is by no means the only driver who wears jewellery. Alphatauri’s Pierre
Gasly, sitting next to him in the press conference, admitted that he was used to wearing “religious items” when driving. “I don’t feel comfortable not having them with me driving with the car,” added the Frenchman, who agreed with Hamilton that drivers should have the “freedom” to express themselves as they wished as long as they were only endangering themselves.
Aston Martin’s Sebastian Vettel, meanwhile, wore a pair of Puma underpants over his race overalls in an apparent protest over the silliness of the whole thing.
Either way, it is a good thing for Mercedes that Hamilton is racing this weekend as their car looked a lot quicker in practice yesterday than it has for most of the season, leading to hopes that they might still be a factor this season.
Mercedes have publicly written off their chances of competing for either championship following a succession of difficult races.
But in theory, if they can resolve their issues with “porpoising” – the phenomenon that occurs when the airflow beneath a car causes it to bounce up and down at high speed – there is still plenty of time for them to catch up to Red Bull and Ferrari.
George Russell, who was second fastest in first practice yesterday, less than a tenth off the pace of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, heads into the weekend just 37 points behind in the standings. Hamilton is a further 21 points back. But there are at least 18 races still remaining this season.
Mercedes have arrived in Miami with upgrades to both their front and rear wings as they seek to address the issues which have bedevilled them so far this year. The “porpoising” problem is affecting all teams to a greater or lesser degree as they scrabble to get to grips with the new technical regulations for this year, the biggest changes in a generation. But Mercedes’ problems are so severe, the team has been forced to run their W13 car much higher than they would wish in an effort to stop it constantly bottoming out.
That has meant they have missed out on what Wolff describes as all the “aerodynamic goodness” they ought to be enjoying from the design. While other teams have found different solutions to the issue – Red Bull’s floor, for instance, features what has been described as an “ice skate” strake which sits in the rear outer corner of the floor and which some believe could be inhibiting the floor’s flexion under load – Mercedes have so far struggled.
But initial impressions yesterday after the introduction of their upgrades were encouraging. It is still unclear whether the changes Mercedes have made to their wings has allowed them to run the W13 at a lower ride height. But they do
appear to be helping. “This rear wing configuration provides reduced downforce and reduced drag based on circuit simulations,” said the team of their upgrades.
“This is likely to be preferred over our higher downforce option, which has been used at the first four races of the season. The new beam wing is paired with the new rear wing configuration, and also generates reduced downforce and lower drag as part of the lower drag aero package for Miami.”
Hamilton is certainly not short of motivation. The seven-time world champion admitted that he had noted the “disrespectful” comments of many pundits following his last outing in Imola two weeks ago, where he finished a lowly 13th.
“It has been interesting to see,” Hamilton said. “[But] it is to be expected. I just keep my head down. I know who I am. I know what I do. I love what I do. We’re going through a tough time. We didn’t come out of the starting blocks as we wanted, but we are fighters.
“And if you don’t know that about me, then you just don’t know me. I will do my best to huddle up and group up with the team, and we will fight as hard as we can.”