Lewis Hamilton, preparing for what is always a testing weekend on the streets of Monaco, welcomed an FIA climbdown in a spat that is clearly becoming a tiresome distraction.
The threat of Hamilton missing the race on Sunday due to the stand-off over whether drivers can wear jewellery under their race suits was lifted temporarily on Friday, with the sport taking a moratorium on enforcing the rule to examine ways to come to an agreement.
The rule had been largely unenforced until this season when the new race director, Niels Wittich, informed drivers he would be strictly applying the regulation for reasons of safety. He imposed a clampdown in Miami where checks were enforced to ensure compliance.
Hamilton opposed the move, noting that he had piercings including a nose stud that could not be removed and that he had raced with jewellery all his career.
The seven-time world champion pointedly observed that the rule made little sense given that wedding rings and bracelets were permitted, and his stance was supported by other drivers. He was given a two-race exemption to allow him time to remove the jewellery but he made it clear he had no intention of backing down. The exemption ended before this weekend’s meeting in Monaco but has now been extended to cover this meeting, Azerbaijan and Canada and will conclude before the British Grand Prix on 3 July.
Hamilton welcomed the move on an issue he believed had already consumed unnecessary time. “The rule came in in 2005, we’ve all worn jewellery our whole careers in Formula One,” he said. “It’s not been a problem in the past and there’s no reason for it to be a problem necessarily now. It definitely is positive that we’re working with [the FIA] and I think they’re accommodating a little bit at the moment. But we shouldn’t have to keep on revisiting this thing every weekend. We’ve definitely got bigger fish to fry.”
The intent is for drivers and the FIA medical staff to find a common ground to adjust the international sporting code so jewellery can be worn in a way that is considered safe. The FIA has cited Romain Grosjean’s accident at the Bahrain GP in 2020, where his car was engulfed in flames, as an example of fears jewellery may cause problems in extricating drivers from stricken cars. Grosjean was fortunate to escape with only minor burns from a horrific accident.
Hamilton was pleased to put the issue behind him as he directs his energy into maximising his Mercedes team’s efforts in Monaco.
“Honestly, I feel like there’s just way too much time and energy being given to this,” he said. “I’ve said everything I feel I need to say on it in the last races and that’s not what my focus is this weekend.”
He and Mercedes will be hopeful of another strong weekend, having finally appeared to have begun resolving the problems with their car’s porpoising at the last round in Spain. Hamilton was consistently the fastest driver on track in Barcelona and put in a fine comeback from 19th to fifth after he was hit and took a puncture on the opening lap.
Mercedes have struggled at Monaco in the past but there is some optimism that this time their car will be better suited to the slower corners of the principality, although practice suggested they have work to do yet.
The championship leaders Ferrari and Red Bull will almost certainly still be on top here. Charles Leclerc is confident Ferrari will go well at his home race in Monte Carlo – a meeting where he has never finished – having shown great pace in Spain before an engine problem ended his race prematurely.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen subsequently took the win in Barcelona to overtake Leclerc in the title fight and move six points ahead. Red Bull have shown their best form in straightline pace this year so Ferrari may well be on top in Monaco. However, qualifying will as usual be vital and more so than ever this year with the cars’ size and weight making overtaking enormously difficult.
Leclerc opened the weekend well, on top in first practice in a competitive session in which Ferrari and Red Bull swapped fastest times. He finished only three-hundredths up on Sergio Pérez. Hamilton and his teammate, George Russell, were once more suffering from bouncing, with a stiff setup for the street circuit and finished in eighth and 10th.
In the afternoon Leclerc took a Ferrari one-two with Carlos Sainz, with Red Bull’s Pérez and Verstappen in third and fourth. Russell was sixth and Hamilton 12th.
