[imagesource: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images]

On the track, it’s clearly not going to be Lewis Hamilton’s season.

After five races, the Mercedes speedster sits sixth in the driver’s standings, a full 68 points off Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Max Verstappen is second with 85, 19 clear of teammate Sergio Perez who sits third.

Off the track, Hamilton is also doing battle with motorsport’s governing body, the FIA, regarding a ban relating to wearing jewellery while racing.

Ahead of yesterday’s Miami Grand Prix, Hamilton went to a press conference wearing three watches, eight rings, four necklaces, and two earrings.

His point was pretty clear:

The response from other drivers past and present was mixed, reports PlanetF1:

“I think it is a bit unnecessary to blow this topic up,” said the Aston Martin driver [Sebastian Vettel] who walked down the pit lane with his underpants outside his race suit as he took the mickey out of the underwear rule.

Image: Twitter / @ESPNF1

“Probably at this stage it’s more of a personal thing. And I feel in a particular way targeted to Lewis.”

The underwear rule dictates that drivers must wear fire-resistant “long underwear” in case of an accident.

Jenson Button said the jewellery ban was there for a reason:

“It is not just what happens at the circuit, it is when they take the crash helmet off, is it going to pull on the ear and then the marshal feels bad that he’s hurt you,” the 2009 World Champion told Sky F1.

“Or, it could be if you are taken to the hospital and they have to do an x-ray or an MRI, you can’t have metal in your face either.”

Hamilton has been given a two-race exemption (Miami and Spain), after which he may be fined or penalised if he continues to wear jewellery.

Perhaps if he pulls out of a race in protest, he can take over from Martin Brundle for the pre-race grid walk and save us all from that secondhand embarrassment.

[source:planetf1]