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Hamilton hit out: "People like to have power and make it count"
- GPblog.com
It was one of the riots we saw in the first half of the season: the ban on wearing jewellery. This rule had actually existed for years, but was never enforced. The new race directors in Formula 1, Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas, are enforcing it this year and Lewis Hamilton is the hardest hit.
Hamilton had a nose piercing earlier this year and for a long time he insisted on not removing it. In the end, after a lot of complaining, he did change his mind. The FIA gives as argument the safety of the drivers in the car, but not everybody agreed. Hamilton was supported by amongst others Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing advisor Helmut Marko.
Hamilton seizes moment
In an interview with Vanity Fair Hamilton says it feels like a personal attack. "People like to have power and make it count. It was against me. Because I’m the only one that has jewelry on, really." said the Mercedes driver. To this day, the seven-time world champion does not understand what the problem is with wearing a piercing in combination with safety.
To make a statement, Hamilton took a seat with all his jewellery in the press conference prior to the Miami Grand Prix. "As I said, I can’t remove at least two of them. One, I can’t really explain where it is," said Hamilton. The nose piercing was visible to everyone, but he did not reveal where the second piercing was.
Hamilton now reveals that there is no second piercing at all. “I was just fucking with it. I don’t have any other piercings anywhere. But I love that there’s this thinking: Shit, has he got his balls pierced?” Since the Silverstone Grand Prix, Hamilton has since driven without a nose piercing. With that he avoided penalties from the FIA.