F1: FIA ban on jewellery in the cockpit backed by Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chief Alex Wurz

Alex Wurz, chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, has backed the FIA’s ban on wearing jewellery in the cockpit.

The dispute has pitted Lewis Hamilton against the sport’s governing body. The seven-time champion is unhappy to take out piercings he has worn for years, at least one of which – a nose stud – needs surgical removal.

Hamilton, a GPDA member, has been given until the Monaco GP on the weekend of May 29 to comply with the rule in full. He says he won’t, arguing he has the right to exercise personal choice.

Grand Prix Drivers’ Association chief Alex Wurz has backed the FIA’s ban on jewellery

While Wurz believes the FIA should have gone about enforcing the safety ban in a more collaborative manner, he said: ‘It’s a rule for the right reasons.’ 

With the governing body also keen to ensure drivers wear fire-compliant underwear, Wurz recalled a talk he attended as a youth given by Denmark’s Kris Nissen, who survived a fiery sportscar crash in Japan in 1988. 

‘He showed his body and said, “Look at this”,’ said the Austrian, once of Benetton, McLaren and Williams. 

‘For Kris the absolutely most painful thing after the fire, and it wasn’t a long fire, was the elastic in his normal pants being burnt into the skin. He said it was agony for years. It educated me.

‘At that moment I said I don’t want to live with these consequences, only for not taking my pants off and putting fireproof garments on. The same with jewellery.’

Lewis Hamilton has been left furious after being made to take out piercings worn for years