Lewis Hamilton “wasn’t trying to make a statement” by wearing a nose stud at the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday, and the seven-time Formula One champion got his bounty wish when the stewards cleared him to put it on again.
No action was taken against Hamilton, but his Mercedes team was fined 25,000 euros ($24,500) for not declaring in his team’s forms that he was wearing nose studs.
Hamilton stated that before qualifying began he explained to the stewards that he needed to keep the stud in due to complications associated with a blood blister on his nose, which occurred because he had to move the stud in and out between races. was.
“Because of that it got infected and I was just continuing with this infection, and I had a blood blister and a lot of pain on my nose. Before qualifying, Hamilton said after finishing an impressive third in qualifying. Told them (the stewards).” In two weeks it has started to heal and they (doctors) have told me to put it (nose stud).
Hamilton said he had a doctor’s letter showing all this and the stewards accepted his explanation after reviewing the footage.
“Broadcast footage shows HAM (Hamilton) wearing an item of jewelery known as a body piercing (nose stud) during the session,” the stewards wrote in their ruling. “HAM acknowledged this fact but explained that they were advised by their doctors not to remove it for the time being. In response to the stewards’ request, the team produced a report from a medical practitioner that confirmed HAM’s explanation.
Still, Hamilton doesn’t buy into reasons not to allow jewelry to be worn in the car — the risk of fire and intense heat — and doesn’t consider it a real safety issue.
“One excuse I was given a long time ago was about heat, and if you’re in a fire metal conducts heat,” Hamilton said. “But our (racing) suit is covered. Our belts, our zips are metal, our buckles… it’s all a little silly. Hopefully they’ll be wiser.”
Shortly after the end of third practice at the Marina Bay circuit, the stewards announced that Hamilton was being investigated for an alleged violation of Appendix L, Chapter III of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, which prohibits the wearing of jewelry.
The summons related to Hamilton’s nose stud, which he had previously removed when the FIA’s jewelry ban came into force.
“Basically, I’ve had my jewelry and my nose studs for years and we obviously had a complete ruckus at the start of the year,” Hamilton said. “At that point, they gave me a therapeutic remission until I found a solution. I went and took it out and tried to find a solution to put it in (between races) and (take) it.”
Hamilton kept his nose stud at the Monaco GP in late May after motorsport’s governing body extended exemptions on drivers wearing the jewelry until the end of June.
He expressed displeasure over the issue.
“Honestly, I think a lot of time and energy is being put into this,” Hamilton said in Monaco. “We shouldn’t have to revisit this thing every weekend. We’ve definitely got bigger fish to fry.”
Earlier in May, he protested the FIA’s crackdown on body piercing at the Miami GP by wearing every piece of jewelry that fit his body and suggested he was ready to sit out of the race over the issue.
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