Mercedes was given the penalty by Formula 1's governing body, the FIA, for submitting a form stating that the British driver had removed all of his jewelry and piercings in accordance with the regulations.

"Hamilton had in fact removed the piercing prior to the competition. The team assumed, without inquiring from Hamilton, that he had followed or would follow the same procedure for this event," the FIA ​​stewards said in a statement. their decision.

"The commissioners accept that the reporting error in this case was not intentional or deliberate. In these circumstances, we are imposing a fine of 25,000 euros on the team", specifies the text.

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The seven-time world champion, who will start third on the grid on Sunday, told reporters he was wearing the jewel again on the advice of doctors after suffering an infection when he took it off.

"I've had my jewelry and my nose piercing for years and obviously we had all this fuss at the start of the year," Hamilton said, referring to the FIA's decision to strictly enforce this season. the rule prohibiting pilots from keeping their jewelry in their single-seater.

“They gave me for many races an exemption so that I could find a solution,” explained Hamilton.

"I tried putting it on and taking it off. It got infected from that. I got a blood blister and a sore on my nose. That's all I told them before the qualification," he added.

"I put it back in place and in the last two weeks it has started to heal and the doctors have told me to keep it on," the Stevenage native said.

For Hamilton, the fact that his jewelry is now such a problem is "a bit silly", even though the rule prohibiting pilots from wearing it has existed for decades.

"One of the best excuses I was given a long time ago was about heat and if you're in a fire, metal conducts heat," he said.

“But our zipper is metal, the buckle around our helmet is metal, we have wires with aluminum metal in them,” Hamilton continued.

"It's crazy that we have to talk about something so small. It's a bit silly. Let's hope they will be reasonable," said the 37-year-old driver.

"The commissioners should be there to ensure our safety, that's the most important thing. But it's not a security problem," he lamented.

© 2022 AFP