Lewis Hamilton may well have been involved in a public racism row, but his week will get far more frustrating if the FIA decides to ban him from the British Grand Prix.
With at least 142,000 people expected to attend the event, it is undeniably one of the biggest days in UK’s sporting calendar.
Given that Hamilton is a British driver, as well as boasting a hugely impressive record at the circuit, he would have been expecting a significant amount of crowd support.
However, if the Stevenage-born driver does not adhere to FIA’s deadline to remove his nose stud, he could be expelled from the race.
Earlier, Hamilton had said that his nose stud was not that easy to simply remove.
In light of that, FIA had offered him an exemption for two races. They were held in Miami on May 8 and then Monaco on May 29.
After he was unable to meet the expectations of the FIA, the Silver Arrows driver was allowed another extension.
Hamilton may expect a call from the stewards if he is unable to remove his nose stud and the FIA wants to implement its rule and place a sanction on him.
It will then remain up to the stewards to decide whether they want to simply warn him, fine him or even suspend him for not following the regulations despite having plenty of notice period.
Is this a new rule?
While a ban on jewellery has been around for a number of years, it is only under new FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem that rules have gotten tighter, especially when the primary concern is safety related.
Speaking on the topic, Hamilton had previously said, “Honestly, I feel like there’s just way too much time and energy being given to this.
“The rule came in in 2005. I think we’ve all worn jewellery throughout our careers in Formula One. It’s not been a problem in the past and there’s no reason for it to necessarily be a problem 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.”
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