Seven-time F1 World Drivers' Champion Lewis Hamilton has been reprimanded by the race stewards after an incident in practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
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The moment occurred in the final sector of the track. Hamilton was harvesting energy in his Ferrari while moving at a slower speed. Meanwhile, Liam Lawson was driving much faster while on his hot lap.
The stewards determined that Hamilton had impeded Lawson and forced the driver to take evasive maneuvers. The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver then immediately keyed up his radio to voice concerns about the dangerous moment.
The stewards later summoned both Hamilton and Lawson for a discussion about the incident.
Liam Lawson vents his frustration during FP2 😤#F1 #AzerbaijanGP pic.twitter.com/w83NBIuB5K
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 24, 2026
"HAM was on an out lap and LAW was approaching on a flying lap. HAM had been informed twice by his team that LAW was approaching," the stewards said in a report.
"The Race Director's Competition Notes require cars on out laps or slow laps to remain on the extreme left from the exit of Turn 16 to the entry of Turn 18, and require Teams and Drivers to manage their gaps before Turn 18 so that they can travel from the apex of Turn 18 to the apex of Turn 19 without impeding a car on a competitive lap.
"HAM did not remain on the extreme left between Turns 16 and 18. Approaching Turn 19, while LAW was closing from behind, HAM stayed on the racing line which required LAW to lift and slightly brake. The Stewards therefore determined that HAM did not follow the traffic-management instructions and unnecessarily impeded LAW.
"The normal penalty for an impeding infringement during Free Practice is a Warning unless it is dangerous or with intent," the stewards continued. "In this case, there was no intent but given the layout and the high-speed corners as well as the specific instructions given by the Race Director, the impeding in the Stewards' opinion was severe.
"The Stewards also took into account the difficulty to manage the energy deployment from Turn 16 to Turn 19 and the end of the lap. Additionally, both drivers mentioned during the hearing that when a driver has no more energy to deploy the difference of speed between the two cars in that specific section is important."
Hamilton later spoke about the incident, but he did not provide details about the meeting with the stewards. He simply said that he had a 4-second gap to Lawson, which he thought was adequate. Teams don't have any simulations or data to go off with the new car regulations introduced this season.
The Ferrari driver also said that he hit the throttle entering Turn 18 and then the "car just died." This erased the gap and led to Lawson having to take his evasive maneuvers.
