As part of a safety campaign by the FIA to prevent injuries or major damage in the event of accidents and, especially, fires, drivers have been ordered to remove all their jewelry at the 2022 Miami Grand Prix this weekend. week.
However, seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton has been granted a two-race waiver to comply with the regulations as some of his jewelery cannot be easily removed from his body.
Ahead of qualifying day in Miami, the FIA has issued a further notice on its interpretation of the rules and has made it clear that watches will also be considered part of the ban.
A note in the document issued by the Formula 1 Race Director at the Miami GP read: “In the interest of safety, watches will be considered as jewelry.”
There has been no official document explaining the penalties that will be handed out if drivers break the rules, but sources have suggested that the stewards will use a ladder system for any breaches.
A first offense risks a fine of nearly €50,000, while a repeat or persistent offender could face a penalty of up to €250,000 and possible loss of championship points if caught breaking the rules a third time.
Such an extreme financial penalty was one reason Haas F1 driver Kevin Magnussen said he made sure to abide by the rules and removed his wedding ring.
“I don’t want to pay the 250,000 euro fine,” he explained.
While Magnussen understands the safety reasons behind the FIA ‘s move, he says forcing drivers to remove tokens such as wedding rings goes into territory he doesn’t feel comfortable with.
“I understand what they’re saying, but it’s a wedding ring on your finger,” he said.
“I accept that I can burn my finger a little more if I run with my wedding ring. But if something were to happen, something really bad, I would want to wear my wedding ring. I feel bad if I take it off.”
“With something like that, like your wedding ring, we take responsibility. There must be some way to remove responsibility,” the Dane concluded.
