‘Got bigger fish to fry’ — Lewis Hamilton is given extension to remove his jewellery by the FIA

Lewis Hamilton has been granted permission to wear jewellery at Monaco on Sunday, however, his quarrel with FIA is far from over, as they look to revisit the situation in July.

The rule has been more or less ignored until this season, when new race director, Niels Wittich, told Formula One drivers that he would be strict in applying the regulation for reasons of safety.

The FIA cites Romain Grosjean’s accident in 2020, where his car was consumed by flames, as an example of how jewellery may cause problems in getting drivers out of cars.

Hamilton has publicly disagreed with the regulation, making the point that he has piercings including a nose stud that could not be removed.

He also reminded the FIA that the rule was not consistent given that wedding bands and bracelets were permitted.

Hamilton was initially given a two-race exemption to remove the jewellery but he made it clear he had no intention of backing down.

That exemption ended before this weekend’s meeting in Monaco, but the FIA has extended their grace period to the event in Silverstone, which is set to take place on July 3rd.

“The rule came in in 2005, we’ve all worn jewellery our whole careers in Formula One,” Hamilton said.

“It’s not been a problem in the past and there’s no reason for it to be a problem necessarily now. It definitely is positive that we’re working with [the FIA] and I think they’re accommodating a little bit at the moment. But we shouldn’t have to keep on revisiting this thing every weekend. We’ve definitely got bigger fish to fry.

“Honestly, I feel like there’s just way too much time and energy being given to this,” he said. “I’ve said everything I feel I need to say on it in the last races and that’s not what my focus is this weekend.”

Hamilton heads into Monaco in sixth with 46 points, as his problems with his new Mercedes car are the story of his season.

After the practice run, Hamilton said that this year’s Monaco track was the “bumpiest” track he has ever driven on because of problems with his Mercedes car.

“There are, like, 100 bumps on just one straight,” Hamilton said.

“I don’t know whether the others are experiencing the same as us [him and teammate George Russell]. But it’s the bumpiest roller-coaster ride.”