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The FIA bans drivers for wearing jewelry during a race, which irks Lewis Hamilton, who has a number of ear piercings. New Formula 1 race director Niels Wittich sent teams a note on Thursday indicating that the FIA will be checking to see if drivers are wearing jewelry and proper underwear as part of pre-race scrutineering. In what is not at all a coincidence, Hamilton showed up at the FIA pre-race press conference on Friday wearing eight rings, four necklaces, three watches, at least one bracelet, and his earrings.
Update 5/6/2022 4:36 PM: The FIA has granted Lewis Hamilton a two-race exemption from the jewelry ban, and this story has been updated accordingly.
In response to the jewelry ban, Hamilton said last month “I don’t have any plans on removing [my earrings],” per ESPN. “I feel there are personal things. You should be able to be who you are. There is stuff that I can’t move. I literally can’t even take these out. These ones on my right ear, they are literally welded in so I have to get them chopped off or something like that. So they will be staying.”
Hamilton today dismissed the jewelry ban as being trivial:
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Later in the day Friday, Following the pre-race press conference, the FIA granted Hamilton a two week exemption from the jewelry ban.
According to Reuters, Hamilton said “I can’t remove at least two [my piercings]. One I can’t really explain where it is. But what I can say is it’s platinum that I have, so it’s non-magnetic, it’s never been a safety issue in the past. I’ve had in 16 years so many MRI scans and not had to take out the platinum.
Sir Lewis wasn’t the only driver to protest at this week’s Miami Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel showed up at a pre-race party wearing a shirt that said: Miami 2060. 1st Grand Prix Under Water. Act Now or Swim Later.” Vettel frequently speaks out about the need to address climate change. The New York Times wrote last year that Miami is more threatened by rising sea levels than any other U.S. metropolitan area. On Friday, Vettel also wore underwear over his race suit to protest the FIA’s regulations, and AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly backed Hamilton.
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