- Race director says he will enforce in-car ban
- Hamilton says he has rings that cannot be removed
Lewis Hamilton has warned he is willing to miss the Miami Grand Prix as he refuses to back down in a stand-off with Formula One’s governing body the FIA, over the wearing of jewellery in the car. Hamilton was highly critical of the FIA for focusing on the rule in what he said had become a silly spat.
Rules state drivers are not permitted to wear jewellery in the car for safety reasons. The regulation has not been rigidly enforced until this season when Niels Wittich, the new race director, informed drivers he would be clamping down and checking they were not wearing jewellery. Wittich is understood to be strongly backed in the move by the new FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem.