Lewis Hamilton ready to miss F1 Miami GP over jewellery standoff

Lewis Hamilton has warned he is willing to miss the Miami Grand Prix as he refuses to back down in a stand-off with Formula One’s governing body the FIA, over the wearing of jewellery in the car. Hamilton was highly critical of the FIA for focusing on the rule in what he said had become a silly spat.

Rules state drivers are not permitted to wear jewellery in the car for safety reasons. The regulation has not been rigidly enforced until this season when Niels Wittich, the new race director, informed drivers he would be clamping down and checking they were not wearing jewellery. Wittich is understood to be strongly backed in the move by the new FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem.

In Miami however Hamilton, who noted he had worn his nose and ear rings in the car without issues for most of his career and that they could not be removed, made it clear he would defy the ruling even if it meant he was ruled ineligible to compete.

“If they stop me, so be it, we have a spare driver, so we are ready and prepared for the weekend,” he said. “There’s lots to do in the city anyway so I’ll be good either way.”

Hamilton said he tried contacting Sulayem directly to try to solve the issue but had received no reply and was damning in his assessment of the FIA’s handling of the issue. “If you think of the steps we have taken as a sport and the more important issues and causes we need to be focused on, this is such a small thing,” he said. “It seems unnecessary for us to get into this spat. We have bigger fish to fry. I want to be an ally and I don’t want to fight over this, it’s very, very silly.”

The row and the potential loss of F1’s most high-profile driver in the US is the last thing the sport wanted for their showcase in Miami. F1’s