After the issue blew up again at the Singapore Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton dismissed the ongoing controversy about his nose stud in his Formula 1 car as all a bit silly.
The Mercedes team was fined 25,000 for filing out a scrutineering form that said Hamilton would comply with the regulations only if he wore jewellery.
When the issue first came up at the start of the season, Hamilton said he felt like he was being targeted by the governing body because he is the only driver with piercings.
He said on Saturday that he wasn't trying to make a statement and that he was wearing the stud again on the advice of doctors.
"I have had my jewellery and my nose stud for a long time and we had a lot of commotion at the beginning of the year," Hamilton said.
It wasn't loose because it was soldered in. I was given an exemption so I could find a solution.
I went to take it out and try to find a solution. It got infections because of that. I had a sore on my nose after I got a blood blisters. I returned to the doctor.
I told them everything before they qualified. There was a blood blisters and I had to have it fixed. I put this back in and in the last couple of weeks it has started to heal and they want me to keep it in.
We're having to talk about a small thing. Everything else is taken out of my possession. I don't want to be honest.
If you are in a fire metal conducts heat and is one of the best excuses I have ever been given.
Our suits are covered, our zip is metal, our buckle around our helmet is metal, and we have the wires with aluminum metal in them.
I'm not sure. It's a little silly. Hopefully they won't be crazy. This is not a safety issue because the stewards should be there.
There was a strange distraction from the controversy over whether Red Bull are one of two teams to break the budget cap.
It is believed that Red Bull and Aston Martin won't be issued certificates of compliance when they are officially posted on Wednesday.
They are in discussion with theFIA and waiting for certification.
The allegations finally emerged in media reports after months of senior people in F1 being aware of them without it being publicly reported because of a lack of proof.
They didn't mention Red Bull in their comments. Wolff mentioned his rivals in his answers, but he did not accuse them of breaking the cap.
He did not come close in the interview with Sky.
Wolff said that it's funny that Christian says that because it's weeks and months that they are being investigated, so maybe he doesn't speak to his CFO.
Wolff said that if you've been over in 2021, then you've been over in 2022. You have an advantage into the next decade.
They may use it next year if it's true that they've created a lightweight Chassis this year. It's a cascade of events that can have a big impact on the three championship titles.
In a news conference on Saturday, he accused Mercedes and Ferrari of defamation and said they had spoken on the subject to distract attention from the fact that Red Bull driver Max Verstappen has a chance of winning the title.
"We take umbrage, and extremely seriously, the remarks that have been made, because, you know, is it any coincidence that Max has his first shot at winning a world title, and here we are talking nothing but cost caps, rather than the phenomenal performance that he has?"
It's an underhand tactic that has been used to detract from a lack of performance this year. We're going to take that seriously next year when references are made to this year.
Wolff was asked if he was worried about being sued. There is a way to go through something. On Wednesday there will be certificates of compliance issued or not, and if someone is not there there is a process and governance in place, and for me it is absolutely certain that the FIA will do the right thing. There is chatter until then.
The cost cap needs to be complied with. I hope all the teams have done that because it is a cornerstone of the new rules.
You can say what difference it makes to spend another $500,000 if you know how much we spend on parts for the car.
We haven't been able to make lighter parts for the car because we don't have enough money. We have to do it for the next car. We can't bring it because it's $2 million over the cap. Every dollar spent has a performance advantage.
Red Bull have not introduced a lighter-weight chassis this weekend, as it has been speculated for some time they might, and Red Bull have introduced fewer development parts than their rivals this season, according to Red Bull's boss.
Red Bull is adamant that they are below the cap.
The atmosphere at this race is always oppressive due to the heat and humidity of the tropics. It has distracted from the battle on the track.
In the context of a weekend in which Red Bull's well-worn ethos of pushing everything to the limit was the center of attention, an error by the team in qualification was not the best time to highlight this.
The team failed to take advantage of Verstappen's fast pace in the last part of the race.
Verstappen was on one lap that was likely going to be good enough for pole at the end of the session, only to be told to stop because there was just time to get in another one.
The team had failed to notice that the car was running short of fuel and they had to call Verstappen into the pits to avoid being in violation of a rule that requires enough.
The team was disqualified from qualification in Abu Dhabi because of this rule.
Verstappen swore at the team over the radio after the game. He said that he had no regrets about what he said. We want to be perfect because we don't want to be bad.
Verstappen has won from 10th in Hungary, 15th in Belgium, and seventh in Italy in the last month.
He doesn't believe that eighth in Singapore can be repeated.
He said it was similar to Monaco. You can't really do that."
We have been to some tracks where it is possible to pass. This one is going to be more frustrating than the last one. I know that once I jump in the car, I'll give everything I have. I try to keep moving forward. I don't think a podium or a win is realistic.
He was asked if it was the best win of the year.
He said that he didn't want to think about it because it was very difficult.
He needs other results to go his way in order to win the title. One is for Leclerc to finish near the bottom of the top 10 and the other is for him to start the race on the pole.
It's a matter of time before Max gets his title, according to Leclerc. Before the end of the season, it's important to win as many races as possible.
We will focus on ourselves and try to maximize the package as much as possible. The rest is equally important to me. I do not care.
Hamilton, third on the grid after his best qualification result of the season, is also on the hunt for a win, along with Red Bull'sSergio Perez, and Charles Leclerc on the front row. Fernando Alonso is aiming for a podium from his fifth place on the grid for Alpine.
This weekend has had a lot of fire in Singapore, which is usually a slow burner.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
