Since the Miami Grand Prix, F1’s drivers have been warned that they will face big fines if they do not remove jewelery while driving their cars.
The FIA’s hard-line on the matter has not impressed a lot of drivers, with Magnussen having questioned whether or not symbolic items like wedding rings should be included.
He said recently: “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. 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.”
Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
However, there remains some confusion about whether or not wedding rings are included – with Lewis Hamilton having suggested that they were okay.
Article 5 of Chapter III of the FIA’s International Sporting Code covers what drivers can and cannot wear in the car.
And while the ban has been widely interpreted to cover all form of jewellery, the regulations are actually quite specific in defining what types are not allowed.
The rules state: “The wearing of jewelery in the form of body piercing or metal neck chains is prohibited during the competition and may therefore be checked before the start.”
A subsequent note in FIA event notes has added watches to the banned list, but there has been no mention of wedding rings.
Magnussen said in Monaco that he would be delighted to wear his wedding ring but would double check with the FIA first because he did not want to risk a sanction.
“I like wearing my wedding ring, so if it’s allowed that I can wear it, then I will wear it,” he explained. “But I’ll go and double check before that it’s correct.”
Magnussen said since Miami he had removed the ring prior to getting in the car (pictured above) as he thought the ban was quite wide-ranging.
“I took it off once they said there was a €50,000 fine,” he said. “That’s it – I put it right in my drawer! Not gonna take the risk.”
