Eye-popping day for Hamilton at Monaco GP as Leclerc cruises

MONACO (AP) — Lewis Hamilton can still race with his jewelry intact. The bigger problem for the Mercedes star Friday: The rough and tumble track at the Monaco Grand Prix.

“It feels like my eyeballs are coming out of their sockets,” Hamilton said after a pair of practice sessions around Monaco's downtown streets.

“There’s like 100 bumps on one straight. It’s the bumpiest roller-coaster ride ever.”

At least he got to drive.

Hamilton has been at odds with Formula One's governing body since the FIA ruled drivers cannot compete while wearing jewelry. The seven-time F1 champion has complained he has piercings that can only be surgically removed, so the FIA granted him a waiver that gave him until Monaco to remove all his studs.

But he arrived in Monaco with a nose piercing still visible, and the FIA has since extended the waiver through the end of June.

“It definitely is positive that we’re working with (the FIA) and I think they’re accommodating (us),” Hamilton said.

But the mood soon soured once practice began and the new Mercedes for 2022 bounced all over the circuit. The car has been troublesome since its debut and has experienced an aerodynamic issue called “porpoising” in which it hops around on the track.

“Man it’s so bouncy here, I’m losing my (expletive) mind,” Hamilton radioed the Mercedes camp. “Need elbow pads in this cockpit. Bouncing like mad.”

Hamilton has won three times at Monaco but this weekend is dealing with one of F1's crown jewel venues like never before.

“It’s just fighting the car, to put a lap together is ‘Wow, holy crap,’” he said. “I don’t remember experiencing it like that.”

The Mercedes duo of newcomer George Russell and Hamilton were eighth and 10th in Friday's first practice, while Russell