Lewis Hamilton Has Backed Down Over Jewellery Ban Ahead Of British Grand Prix

Lewis Hamilton appears to have backed down in the face of a jewellery ban that could have kept him from driving in the British Grand Prix.

According to the Metro, it looks like Hamilton has removed a nose stud that could have stopped him from racing this weekend.

Formula One's governing body has had a jewellery ban in place since 2005, but the rule has been loosely followed by drivers.

However, new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been keen to enforce the rules and sees it as an important safety issue.

The Mercedes driver was given a grace period of two races (Miami and Spain) to remove all of his jewellery and piercings, yet he explained that his nose stud would require surgical attention.

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Speaking on the rule earlier this month, Hamilton said: "The rule came in in 2005, we’ve all worn jewellery our whole careers in Formula One.

"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."

Now, however, it looks like the nose stud has been removed and Hamilton will be able to get behind the wheel of his Mercedes for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

He is the most successful F1 driver on the circuit with eight race wins to his name, including last year's race, in which he was the clear winner ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The deadline for Hamilton to remove his jewellery in order to comply with the ban was yesterday (30 June), so it seems as though the seven time world champion has made it in the nick of time.

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He will be hoping to get back to winning ways at Silverstone after failing to finish top of any of the nine races already run at this year's F1 World Championship.

At this point in last year's championships Hamilton had won three races with another three second places finishes, while victory at the British Grand Prix made it four race wins under his belt.

He would go on to be pipped to the title by Red Bull's Max Verstappen following a hugely controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

This time around he's got no wins and has only made the podium twice, both of those being third placed finishes.

In the current standings the seven time world champion is sixth, lagging behind Mercedes teammate George Russell.

Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Sport, Formula 1

Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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