Grand Prix Drivers' Association backs jewellery ban

The Grand Prix Drivers' Association has agreed that Formula One is right to ban jewellery from the cockpit but says the rule should have been enforced in a less confrontational way.

Formula One F1 - Miami Grand Prix - Miami International Autodrome, Miami, Florida, U.S. - May 6, 2022 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton before practice (Photo: REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo/)

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and the FIA were in a standoff at this month's Miami Grand Prix over piercings the Mercedes driver has raced with for years and said he could not remove.

Hamilton, the sport's most successful driver and biggest name in America, could face a race ban and/or fines in relation to his jewellery.

But Hamilton's team did produce the documentation to the FIA saying they were in compliance with the rule and a source told Reuters that the driver would not wear any jewellery and had been given a two-race exemption for his body piercing.

The Briton must have the piercing removed before the Monaco Grand Prix on May 29, the source added. But, he claims he has no intention of doing so.

Hamilton had given no indication that he was up for a compromise when he attended the pre-race press conference wearing rings on every finger, three large watches (set to different time zones), a bangle, strings of thick necklaces, studs in both ears and a nose ring.

Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) chairman Alex Wurz said "I would have probably liked a slightly different approach of how to deliver the message.

"I don't want to end up in football where there are more hands in the air and verbal abuse...you have to work together. It's a style I would have preferred in this case."

The ban on jewellery, as well as the wearing of non-compliant under-garments, has long been in the rules but rarely enforced until the FIA clamped down this season.

It says items beneath the mandatory flameproof clothing could increase the risk of burn injuries and has highlighted the risk of critical delays or complications if medical imaging is required following an accident.

"It is a rule for the right reasons," former Benetton, McLaren and Williams driver Wurz, who is heavily involved in driver safety and education, told Reuters.

(Reuters)