Hamilton gets support: 'These drivers are all grown up'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Damon Hill believes that drivers should be able to decide for themselves whether to wear jewellery and piercings. The 1996 world champion himself drove with a gold chain in F1 and, according to him, had never taken it off.
The new race directors Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas brought forward the ban on jewellery and piercings this year. That rule was already in the F1 rulebook but was not enforced. After much resistance from the drivers, the FIA now seems to agree to the drivers' wishes after all, and Hill is very happy about that.
FIA backs down
"I raced my entire career wearing a gold chain and Saint Christopher. Nothing would persuade me to take that off. They can try, but I am just racing with my Saint Christopher,'' Hill said smiling to the Sky Sports camera. The former F1 driver believes it is the driver's own responsibility.
"There comes a point when it's a personal choice. All these drivers are adults and are certainly capable of assessing the risks and making a choice themselves. If they pay the price for wearing piercings at a certain time in an extraordinary situation, that's to some degree their choice. I understand the FIA's position, they have ensure the best situation. Every time we get in a racing car, we sign releases. All they have to do is come up with a contract that says you accept the risks and accept that it's my fault if anything goes wrong," concluded Hill.