F1's jewelry ban is for right reasons, says GPDA's Wurz

Story by Reuters

Updated 1556 GMT (2356 HKT) May 16, 2022

Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton attends the press conference ahead of the first practice ahead of the Miami Grand Prix.

Formula One is right to ban jewelry from the cockpit but the governing FIA could have enforced the rule in a less confrontational way, according to Grand Prix Drivers' Association (GPDA) chairman Alex Wurz.

Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton and the FIA were in a standoff at this month's Miami Grand Prix over piercings the Mercedes driver has raced with for years and said he could not remove. Hamilton has been told to take them out by the Monaco Grand Prix on May 29 but has said he has no intention of doing so.«It is a rule for the right reasons,» former Benetton, McLaren and Williams driver Wurz, who is heavily involved in driver safety and education, told Reuters.«I would have probably liked a slightly different approach of how to deliver the message.Read More»I don't want to end up in football where there are more hands in the air and verbal abuse...you have to work together. It's a style I would have preferred in this case."The ban on jewelry, as well as the wearing of non-compliant under-garments, has long been in the rules but rarely enforced until the FIA clamped down this season.It says items beneath the mandatory flameproof clothing could increase the risk of burn injuries and has highlighted the risk of critical delays or complications if medical imaging is required following an accident.FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem told the Daily Mail last week he wanted Hamilton to send the right message to young drivers as a role model.Wurz said he had never forgotten a talk he attended as a youngster given by Danish former racer Kris Nissen, who