The new F1 race director, Niels Wittich, has decided to follow the International Sporting Code to the letter, asking that drivers not wear non-homologated jewelry or underwear when in the cockpit of their cars.
The discussion went on for several weekends and reached its peak in Miami, with the removal of wedding rings, a particular point of interest.
The pilots were also formally told, via Wittich’s notes, that watches have also entered the ban this weekend.
Hamilton pointed out his point of view when he hit the track on Friday, wearing three watches and numerous jewels including rings and chains.
For the next two races he was granted an exemption, because he would have at least two piercings that are not easy to remove. The most visible is what he wears on his nose.
The discussion about the jewels was reignited on Saturday, when Esteban Ocon had a very hard impact against the barriers during FP3, in the same spot where Carlos Sainz had also crashed in FP2.
Ocon revealed that the subject of the unprotected wall was discussed in the drivers briefing on Friday night, but that the required changes were not made.
The apparent inconsistency between the debate on jewels and the lack of response to a specific request to modify that area of the track with Tecpro barriers did not go unnoticed by the riders.
Jewelery of Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-AMG
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
“I mean, this whole safety thing,” Hamilton said when asked about the barrier. “When they told me about jewelry, they said safety is everything. I said, ‘Well, what happened in the last 16 years? I’ve been wearing jewelry for 16 years. So security wasn’t an issue?”
“When we come to these new tracks, they do the best job they can. I think they have done a great job on all of these new tracks with safety. You can’t predict every single corner where we will need Tecpro, but track safety is great”.
“So I think of course after an experience like this weekend, we can know it’s an area we can improve. But that’s part of the lessons we’ve learned.”
When asked by Motorsport.com if he would have his nose pierced in Monaco after his two-race exemption, Hamilton gave a clear “no” in response.
He then added: “I had an exemption here, I will have an exemption the rest of the year. Wedding rings are allowed.”
Pressed that the debate would continue in Munich, he said: “Sure, next time I’ll wear four watches.”
On Saturday, Toto Wolff suggested that the jewelry ban had already been the subject of a direct discussion between Hamilton and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem.
“I think what was needed was a dialogue between Lewis and Mohammed,” he said. “It is clear that the regulations are here to protect the riders; on the other hand, we need to keep the ability to express their diversity.”
“And we know this is important to Lewis, so without going into the details of where the piercing is left, I’m sure they’ll come to a good resolution.”
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