Lewis Hamilton submits doctor's note for wearing nose stud, but Mercedes pays the fine

Lewis Hamilton escaped a fine for wearing his nose stud in qualifying for Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix, but Mercedes were charged 25 000 euros (R443 512, est.) for wrongly declaring the British driver would adhere to Formula 1's jewellery ban.

F1's governing body, the FIA, has enforced a clampdown on piercings this season, and following several medical exemptions, Hamilton, 37, removed his nose stud for the 10th round at Silverstone in July.

But Hamilton was seen wearing it in practice and qualifying here and was summoned to see the stewards.

Hamilton provided a doctor's note and explained he had been advised to wear the nose stud to stop an infection which came about when he removed it.

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Infection after removal

In the moments after he qualified third for Sunday's round at the Marina Bay Circuit, the British driver said: "I am not trying to make a statement. I have had my jewellery and my nose stud for years.

"We had that huge commotion at the beginning of the year. At the time, it was soldered in, so it didn't come loose. For many races, the FIA gave me an exemption until I could find a solution. I got it taken out, and it got infected because of that.

"I was continuing with this infection, and I had a blood blister. I went back to have the blood blister fixed, because there was pus and blood. I put this stud in, and then in the last two weeks, it has started to heal, and they asked that I keep it in.

"I have got a letter from the doctor. I have tried my best. Hopefully, they will be sensible. The stewards should be there to keep us safe, and this is not a safety issue. It is crazy that we have to talk about something so small. At