Red Bull's Helmut Marko takes Lewis Hamilton's 'side' in jewelry fiasco against the FIA

In a rare show of support, Red Bull special advisor Helmut Marko has backed Lewis Hamilton in his spat with the FIA over the jewellery ban. Marko feels the FIA is overstepping its bounds by mandating that F1 drivers remove jewellery and piercings while in the cockpit.

Speaking to RTL, the Austrian said:

“Do I side with [Lewis] Hamilton? Yes, I do. I think they have gone too far. This should be a personal decision of the drivers.”

Marko felt that the FIA had more important issues than drivers wearing jewellery to deal with. He criticized the governing body for its previous inaction over the issue and felt that an unnecessary spat was being “invented”. He added, saying:

“I don’t remember how long Hamilton has been in F1, but he has been wearing this jewellery all these years. So why did they suddenly decide to invent this topic? I think we have enough other things to worry about, and this is my honest opinion.”

In Miami, Hamilton was granted a two-race medical exemption, as the Briton has some body piercings that are hard to remove on short notice. The seven-time world champion is therefore expected to comply with the new mandate from the Monaco GP onwards. He has, however, already made it clear that he will not do so.

---

Mercedes boss hopes that Lewis Hamilton can “come to a resolution” with the FIA over jewellery issue

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has backed Lewis Hamilton’s decision not to comply with the FIA’s jewellery ban and hopes that the two parties will come to an understanding ahead of the Monaco GP. Speaking to PlanetF1, he said:

“It is clear regulations are here to protect the drivers, but on the other side we need diversity and the means of expressing yourself and we know this is important to Lewis [Hamilton]. What was needed was a dialogue between Lewis and Mohammed [Ben Sulayem, FIA president]. I’m sure they will come to a good resolution.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton has been urged to comply with the jewellery ban by veteran racing drivers, as well as the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GDPA).