"Sh*t, has he got his b*lls pierced?" - Lewis Hamilton loved 'f***king' with the FIA over jewelry issue

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Lewis Hamilton reminisced about the entire jewelry saga with the FIA. The seven-time world champion admitted that there were times when he was just messing with the motorsport governing body.

Hamilton said:

“I said, ‘I can’t remove at least two of them [piercings]. One, I can’t really explain where it is. I was just f***ing with it. I don’t have any other piercings anywhere. But I love that there’s there this thinking: ‘Sh*t, has he got his balls pierced?’”

When questioned if he felt he was being targeted in this jewelry saga, Lewis Hamilton claimed that was the case as he was the only one wearing it. The Mercedes driver said:

“I mean, yeah. Because I’m the only one that has jewellery on really. People love to have power, and to enforce power.”

The entire saga started earlier in the 2022 F1 season when the race director's directive for the race weekend included a special mention of drivers being barred from wearing any jewelry while heading out to the race track. When Hamilton was questioned on his initial reaction to the same, the Mercedes driver said:

“I don’t have any plans on removing it. I feel they are personal things. You should be able to be who you are. I will continue to be...there’s stuff that I can’t move. I literally can’t even take these out [pointing to piercings in his right ear]. They’re welded in so I’d have to get them chopped off or something like that, so they’ll be staying.”

He further added:

“Honestly, I don’t have an opinion about it. Nothing has really affected me so far with whatever they are doing. I’ve not really paid much attention to it. I don’t know what those scenarios were so I can’t really comment on them. They are doing the same as always I would imagine.”

When the directive was finally applied, Lewis Hamilton voiced his concerns as he termed the whole thing a step backward in the sport. He said:

“It’s almost like a step backwards, if you think about the steps we’re taking as a sport and the more important issues and causes we need to be focusing on. I think we’ve made such great strides as a sport…this is such a small thing.”

“It’s about individuality and being who you are. I sent [Mohammed bin Sulayem] a message just reassuring him that I want to be an ally. I don’t want to fight with you guys over this. This is very, very silly.”

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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had weighed in on Lewis Hamilton vs FIA saga

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was not one to be left behind during the entire Lewis Hamilton-FIA jewelry row. The Austrian had earlier jumped in to handle the situation as things started to escalate. He hoped both Hamilton and the FIA would have a dialog and solve it amicably.

Wolff said:

“I think what was needed was a dialogue between Lewis and Mohammed. It is clear that regulations are here to protect the drivers. On the other side, we need to keep the possibility of diversity and the means of expressing ourselves, and we know that this is important for Lewis.”

“Without going into detail as to where the piercing stayed and where not, I’m sure they (Hamilton and bin Sulayem) will come to a good resolution.”

In the end, common sense prevailed and after multiple extensions, Lewis Hamilton did remove the concerned piece of jewelry before driving on the track.