Lewis Hamilton is likely to be backed by F1 bosses in his jewellery battle with the FIA as a division between the two continues to grow. Reports suggest those running F1 believe the jewellery debate is a pointless interference despite the FIA’s hardball approach and have become ‘deeply dissatisfied’ with the sport’s governing body.
The crackdown is thought to be a push by the FIA’s new president Mohammed Ben Sulayem who took over the role from Jean Todt at the start of the season. However, the decision has caused a PR war with many teams siding with Hamilton that drivers should be allowed to wear what they want.
The Mercedes star even called out the FIA’s decision publicly as he branded the move a ’backwards step’. That is just one facet of F1 bosses’ frustrations with drivers and team principals also highly critical of many of the decisions made by the FIA this season.
Hamilton, Christian Horner and Mattia Binotto were among the high-profile names criticising their handling of last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix after a heavy delay due to rain.
READ MORE: Lewis Hamilton and the FIA’s war over jewellery ban is a ‘bit odd’
The Ferrari boss also accused the FIA of not following the rulebook after failing to punish Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez for crossing the pit exit line. At recent races, Esteban Ocon accused the FIA of not listening after calls to install more Tec-pro barriers at the Miami Grand Prix.
During the same weekend, Fernando Alonso also hit back at the stewards after the Spaniard was awarded a penalty. The Guardian have claimed that F1 chiefs and many team owners are becoming more infuriated by the FIA’s direction of the sport.
There are rumours that senior figures within F1 believe many of the FIA’s decisions have been a distraction and led to poor publicity. Bosses have also been left asking whether the FIA’s influence in F1 could be downsized in the coming years.
It comes after F1 bosses looked to cash in on a surge in interest for the sport in recent years.
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TV audiences were up four per cent globally last season but there was massive growth in key markets such as the USA which saw a 58 per cent rise. The frustration comes after the FIA made a sweep of changes for 2022 after a controversial end to last season.
The FIA had promised an ‘in-depth reform of referring and race direction’ in an attempt to cut out errors. This resulted in the introduction of new race directors Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas to replace Michael Masi but things have not gone how F1 bosses had hoped.
This resulted in the introduction of new race directors Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas to replace Michael Masi but things have not gone how F1 bosses had hoped.
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