In the middle of the FIA’s jewellery ban, Red Bull adviser Dr Helmut Marko has rushed to Sir Lewis Hamilton’s rescue.
The FIA reminded drivers to remove all jewellery before entering the car ahead of both the Australian and Miami Grand Prix, since failure to do so increases the risk of injury in the case of a fire.
If the driver is wearing a metallic artefact during “medical imaging,” race director Niels Wittich indicated in his notes in Florida that “diagnosis” can be affected.
After all of the improvements the sport has made in recent years, Hamilton was unhappy by what he saw as a reversal from the governing body, telling FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem that the sport has “bigger fish to fry.”
Dr. Marko, who is normally a critic of Hamilton due to the heated rivalry between Mercedes and Red Bull last season, is perplexed as to why, considering that Hamilton has worn jewellery from the start of his Formula One career in 2007, ben Sulayem is suddenly cracking down on it.
“I think they have gone too far,” the Austrian said. “This should be a personal decision of the drivers. I don’t remember how long Hamilton has been in F1, but he’s been wearing this jewellery all these years. So why did they suddenly decide to invent this topic?”
“I think we have enough other things to worry about. We must accept and respect the individuality of each driver,” Marko added.
“Do I side with Hamilton? Yes I do, and this is my honest opinion.”
The rule prohibiting the wearing of jewellery was enacted in 2005, therefore the seven-time champion was perplexed as to why it took 17 years to enforce it.
“When they told me about the jewellery, they said safety is everything. And I said ‘well, what’s happened for the last 16 years? I’ve had jewellery on for 16 years, so was safety not an issue back then?’” said Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion has until the Monaco Grand Prix to comply with the rule, but he has stayed steadfast in his attitude, declaring that he will get an exemption for the remainder of the year.
