Toto Wolff offers update on Lewis Hamilton’s jewellery row with FIA
Hamilton had been prepared to boycott the Miami Grand Prix over the clampdown but was convinced to continue following talks
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Your support makes all the difference.Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff is confident Lewis Hamilton’s row with the FIA over its jewellery ban will come to a “good resolution”.
Hamilton held talks with the FIA’s new president Mohammed ben Sulayem at the Miami Grand Prix this past weekend after the seven-time world champion said he would be prepared to boycott the race over the governing body’s clampdown.
It led to Hamilton agreeing to take out his earrings for the race for safety reasons while he was given a two-race exemption for his nose piercing, which cannot be taken out easily.
It means Hamilton will need to remove the piercing by the Monaco Grand Prix at the end of the month, after the FIA wrote to drivers at the start of the season reminding them that jewellery is not allowed to be worn in cars during races.
“What was needed was a dialogue between Lewis and Mohammed,” Wolff said in Miami. “It is clear that regulations are here to protect the drivers, but on the other side we need diversity and the means of expressing yourself and we know that this is important to Lewis.
“Without going into detail – where the piercings stayed and where they didn’t – I am sure they will come to a good resolution.”
Hamilton arrived at his press conference wearing three watches, eight rings, four necklaces and two earrings, saying he “couldn’t get any more on”, in what was a clear show of defiance to the FIA.
The 37-year-old said there were more important things for the sport to be focussing on in what he considered to be a “backwards step” from the sport’s governing body.
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