"We have reserve drivers, so we are ready and prepared for the weekend. There are a lot of things to do in this city, so I will be fine in any case," quipped the Briton at a press conference. , clad in his rings, necklaces, earring, nose piercing, and no less than three watches around his wrists, aligned with different time zones.
If the ban on wearing jewelry on board single-seaters was introduced in 2005 as a security measure, the measure has never really been applied by the pilots.
But this season, the new FIA race director, Niels Wittich, decided to tighten the screw to enforce the measure.
A first reminder in this sense was made during the Australian GP in early April, the third round of the season.
“Wearing jewelry in the form of piercings or metal chains around the neck is prohibited during competition and can therefore be checked before the start,” he recalled on the sidelines of the Miami GP.
And to justify: "wearing jewelery during competition can hinder medical interventions as well as subsequent diagnosis and treatment if they are necessary following an accident".
"We have made such progress as a sport (...) I have been practicing this sport for 16 years. I have been wearing jewelry for 16 years", regretted the Mercedes driver, who assures that "in the car , I only have my earrings and my nose ring, which I can't even take off"
If the measure does not delight Hamilton, who also says he is ready to sign a discharge to continue to be able to wear his jewels, he nevertheless judges "useless to enter into a quarrel".
"I will try to communicate and work with Mohammed (Ben Sulayem, the president of the FIA, editor's note), I am here to be an ally of sport, of Mohammed and of F1 and I think we have other cats to do - things to do, and an impact to have, so that's where we have to focus," he continued.
© 2022 AFP