Lately, the FIA management specifically targeted Lewis Hamilton during the start of the season amid Metcedes\’ troubled with their 2022 F1 car. The Briton was involved in a battle with the sport\’s governing body regarding a ban on jewelry. The jewelry rule has been a part of F1 since 2005, prohibiting the drivers from wearing any kind of jewelry material in the car\’s cockpit. However, the rule had never been enforced quite strictly before the start of the 2022 season. The new racing director Niels Wittich mentioned the issue several times in his race notes. Hence, the jewelry issue became a major controversy after Lewis Hamilton protested the jewelry ban.
Hamilton felt the FIA specifically targeted him for wearing jewelry. He was the only F1 driver who has quite a colorful personality in terms of his clothing styles and love for jewelry. Lewis has been wearing jewelry for the entirety of his F1 career and has never been prohibited. Hence, the Briton was not really to be told what to do after coming so far in Formula 1 over the course of the last 15 years. The controversy took a major turn when Lewis claimed he was willing to accept the ban for defying the jewelry rule. However, the Mercedes driver decided to get rid of his earrings during the Miami GP weekend.
Lewis was given exemptions to get his nose stud removed through a medical procedure before the British Grand Prix. The Briton faced the threat of getting banned from his own race. Luckily, Hamilton showed up during the practice sessions without his nose stud and shut down the unnecessary chatters about a possible ban or fine. Since then, Hamilton has had a turnaround. He nearly won in Silverstone and secured five podiums in the last five outings.
Hamilton Admits To Messing With the FIA About Jewelry
The teams and drivers are enjoying the summer break. And Lewis hamilton revealed that he was messing around with the FIA by protesting against the jewelry ban. The Briton was recently featured on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine. In the interview, the seven-time world champ was asked if he felt the jewelry ban was aimed at him specifically. Hamilton felt that he is the only driver in Formula 1 to wear jewelry. Lewis showed up wearing a ring, three clocks, and chains to protest against the ban at the Miami press conference. He also jokingly claimed to have a couple of piercings in places of his body that could not be removed. It led to speculations among the fans about the locations of the possible piercings.
As per Hamilton, he merely wanted to pressure the FIA with his comments. The 37-year-old said, \”I was just f*****g with it. I don\’t have any other piercings anywhere. But I love that there\’s this thinking: Shit, has he got his balls pierced?\”
Hamilton also admitted that he did not like the rule. Not only that, he claimed to dislike being told what to do. As a result, he gave the FIA a hard time before finally getting rid of his nose stud and earrings.