Having agreed a two race exemption on the jewellery ban, a defiant Lewis Hamilton now says the bling will remain in place in Spain and beyond.

If nothing else, the Miami weekend has witnessed a ramping up of the 'battle of wills' between the FIA and drivers - and in particular Lewis Hamilton - over jewellery.

Now part of the scrutineering process, detente appeared to have been reached when the seven-time world champion was given an exemption from the ban which would see him continue to flash the bling over the Barcelona weekend.

Then came the FIA's decision to cite watches as jewellery also.

Speaking in the wake of qualifying, having put his Mercedes W13 sixth on the grid, a defiant Hamilton said that post-Monaco the jewellery will remain in place.

Asked if he was happy with the two-race exemption, the Briton admitted that he was not, adding that he had no intention of removing the offending nose stud.

"I got an exemption here, I'll get an exemption for the rest of the year," he said. "Wedding rings are allowed."

Asked how he will approach the ban when it comes into effect in Monaco, he smiled: "I'll wear four watches next time.

"When they told me about the jewellery, they said safety is everything," he continued. "And I said, 'Well, what's happened over the last 16 years? I've had jewellery for the last 16 years, so was safety not an issue back then?'"

Another critic of the crackdown is Kevin Magnussen, who is unhappy at the demand to remove his wedding ring.

"I understand what they are they saying," admitted the Dane, "but it is a wedding ring around your finger.

"I'll take a little bit of extra burn on my finger to race in my wedding ring," he added. "And if something was going to happen, something bad, I would want to wear my wedding ring. It kind of feels bad to take it off.

"With something like that, like your wedding ring, let us take that responsibility. There must be somehow to remove liability."

Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami, here.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by meatball, 10/05/2022 16:41

"these guys risk everything when they hop in the car. is a wedding ring or a nose stud really on the driver's mind? Is it really the biggest problem that the drivers face during a weekend? What a pointless effort by the FIA to play a "safety card" when they will allow blind concrete lined corners in Jedah and Miami - all in the name of the almighty dollar. "

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2. Posted by Italian Job, 09/05/2022 7:38

""Bling & tatts" special sounds very good to me, but only if we can have all the other programmes without the bling and tatts"

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3. Posted by atlanta fan, 08/05/2022 18:38

"I just don't get it. Lewis's time and attention should be directed 110% at car development and improvements to return MB, and him, to the front of the grid at this point. ANYTHING else is a waste of time and a distraction from the job at hand. So to waste time on the driver jewelry is unacceptable to me, and should be to Toto. It's serves no benefit to the team, the sponsors, and his fans that want, and except, to see Lewis back preforming at a 7-time World Champion level. Enough Lewis, lets get on with the job at hand. "

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4. Posted by Pavlo, 08/05/2022 14:22

"16 years before halo no one died, yet Lewis would have been dead without it. And the fact that he breaks the rule for 16 years doesn’t justify keep breaking it. I also have superstitions but it’s stupid to expect change of rules just because I want.
They are free to offer the definition of “safe jewellery” that may be accepted by FIA. But expecting that they can just get an exception is naive, I very much expect FIA will just stick to the rules."

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5. Posted by jcr, 08/05/2022 11:48

"This is becoming more and more like a reason for Sir Hammi to walk without losing face."

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6. Posted by Greybeard, 08/05/2022 9:29

"Perhaps Netflix could do a 'Bling and Tatts' special so we could all share the sight of those piercings and tattoos."

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The jewellery stays, insists Hamilton

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