Lewis Hamilton’s FIA row ‘ridiculous’ as ex-racer who suffered dreadful burns speaks out

The FIA’s tightening of its jewellery restrictions has become something of a culture war in Formula 1, despite lawmakers insisting health and safety is their sole priority. Nevertheless, one former driver has suggested it would be “totally ridiculous” for Lewis Hamilton and the rest of the grid to not follow the letter of the law.

That’s according to former driver and motorsport executive Kris Nissen, who suffered burns to more than a third of his body and spent two weeks in a coma following a crash in 1988. The Dane was driving a Porsche 962 in Fuji, Japan, when he crashed and was trapped in the ensuing fire, insisting his “life was saved by [fellow driver] Paolo Barilla.”

Nissen recalled how he had worn the “correct helmet, correct gloves, correct FIA shoes,” but he failed to wear the fireproof underwear the FIA is now trying to promote. Moreover, the 61-year-old—who won Germany’s Formula 3 championship one year prior to his crash in Japan—believes it was his mistake to wear anything metal inside the cockpit.

“On my left hand I had a plastic watch and under the watch, there are no burns,” Nissen told RaceFans. “On my right hand I was wearing, I still have it, a gold [bracelet]. And this one was heated by the fire or by the heat. It made an additional burn in my right [wrist].

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