‘In light of extenuating circumstances’: FIA deems ‘no further action’ necessary over Lewis Hamilton nose stud
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Lewis Hamilton in a press conference at the Singapore Grand Prix (Images through IMAGO / HochZwei)
Lewis Hamilton will start P3 in the Singapore Grand Prix, his best of the season. This session was also likely his best qualifying session of the season, as he finished just around 0.054 seconds behind the man on pole, Charles Leclerc. But there was one thing which might sour it a little for him, or at least for Mercedes.
Back in May, Lewis Hamilton was in rather hot water with the FIA. The Briton loves wearing jewellery, but the FIA has enforced a jewellery ban in the paddock. Hamilton certainly did not like that and turned up in even more of it than he normally does. While he eventually conceded on the rest, he could not remove the nose stud as it required minor surgery, for which he was granted a two-race exemption.
It is this nose stud that landed him in trouble with the stewards again. He was spotted wearing a nose stud during the weekend because his nose became infected following the removal of the piece. So to prevent that, he put it in again. For this, he was summoned to the stewards after FP3, and minutes after the qualifying session. So was Mercedes, for an ‘Inaccurate self-scrutineering form’.
Lewis Hamilton insists jewellery ‘not a safety issue’
Lewis Hamilton certainly could have been in trouble due to the jewellery, but because he had a valid reason (to prevent infection), he has escaped punishment. But Mercedes have not been so lucky, and for the inaccuracy in the form, they have been fined €25,000.
As per Motorsport.com, the FIA’s document concerning Hamilton’s jewellery said: “The stewards then consulted the FIA Deputy Medical Delegate, Dr Ian Roberts, who viewed the medical report and concurred with the opinion therein. In light of the extenuating circumstances, we have determined to take no further action.”
Lewis Hamilton finds the jewellery ban rather silly, as other metals are still present on their body: “…Our suits are covered [in metal]. Our seatbelts, the [firesuit] zip is metal, the buckle around your helmet is metal, the wires that we have [to connect to the car] there’s metal in there.”
He added: “I don’t know, it’s all a bit silly. Hopefully, they’ll be sensible. The stewards should be there to keep us safe most importantly, but this is not a safety issue.”
The Briton will start P3, and will certainly be in with a shout for the podium. But who knows? He also showed good pace in qualifying, and with the top 3 being so close together, we are definitely going to witness an exciting race tomorrow.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)