Drivers have been reminded to not wear jewellery or body piercings when competing in Melbourne at this weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
Ahead of this weekend's Australian Grand Prix, F1 organisers have reminded drivers across teams to not wear jewellery or body piercings when competing in the Melbourne race. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, who is known for turning up at race weekends wearing chains and ear piercings, will need to be careful not to breach the rule come Sunday.
The ruling was included in the Melbourne event notes issued by new FIA race director Niels Wittich, who is alternating the position with Eduardo Freitas during the 2022 F1 season following Michael Masi's sacking.
Race Director’s Event Notes have been released; interesting that 5) regarding the “wearing of jewellery” which is prohibited during the competition. pic.twitter.com/RpzzBUDlSB
— Sergio Rodríguez 🏎⚽️ (@sergiorf97)Appendix L, Chapter III of Article 5 of the governing body's International Sporting Code states, "The wearing of jewellery in the form of body piercing or metal neck chains is prohibited during the competition and may therefore be checked before the start."
Rather than being a fresh clampdown, FIA has simply reminded drivers about the ISC's jewellery ruling, which has been in place since 2005. The ban was introduced as a safety measure to reduce drivers' risk when they need to escape from a car following a crash.
Several drivers across the grid have been spotted wearing rings and bracelets in their cars in the recent past. Any breach this weekend is likely to be met with a fine rather than any kind of sporting penalty.
Following this reminder, several F1 fans took to Twitter to react to the possible crackdown on their favourite drivers for sporting jewellery and piercings. Here's a look at what some people had to say:
I don't want to try and compare F1 to other different Sports about this Jewellery Rule but 👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿
- Some MLB players wear Necklace
- Some Tennis Players wear Necklace (especially Women)
- Some Cricket Players wear Necklace
🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/q0hXUlRMkX
I've been an F1 & Sir Lewis Hamilton Fan since 2007 and this F1 Jewellery Rule is all over my TL Looool 😂🤣
One minute I'm thinking this is targeting Sir Lewis the next minute some people are saying this rule has been introduced since 2005 😂🤣
Where's the proof??? 😂😂🤣🤣
In April 2005, FIA brought in a rule banning drivers from wearing piercings and jewellery under their nomex overalls.
This came about due to concerns over accessories worn by Red Bull's Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi pic.twitter.com/WSWN5UZqqg
Jewellery ❌
Missiles ✅
Just when you thought the couldn't sink any lower... 🤦🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/fLjSLdGRbL
Can’t believe F1 drivers even want to wear jewellery in the cockpit tbh https://t.co/UKydWc0jpo
— Josh (@Josh_RushbyBTCC)Only when it suits them. The biggest sporting robbery of all time went by with a ‘we did it with the best intentions’ 🤔 yet we need to be worried about jewellery during races?…🤔🙈🤬
— Paul (@TheDude924)The way F1 allow you to race next to missiles being dropped but their safety concern is piercings and jewellery. This is not a real sport 😭
— L | Villaneve endgame🦂🐸- Positive Merc Vibes💃💜 (@Lorss_)This whole jewellery conversation just proves that need to adhere to ALL of the regulations appropriately. No wishy washy vagueness. USE THE REGULATIONS PROPERLY. EVERY SINGLE ARTICLE.
— シャヒラ♒️💙💜❤️XNDA SUPREMACIST😤 (@Shaherah_Arlene)The Australian Grand Prix returns to the F1 calendar for the first time since 2019 after the last two events have been cancelled. The track returns with an updated layout to boost the number of overtakes on Sunday.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton heads into this weekend's race already 29 points adrift of early championship leader Charles Leclerc after a difficult opening two rounds of the season in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
After claiming a podium finish in third in the season-opener, Hamilton could only recover to 10th in Jeddah after suffering his worst qualifying performance in terms of pure pace since 2009.