Lewis Hamilton learns verdict after Azerbaijan GP impeding investigation 

Lewis Hamilton has received a reprimand from Formula 1’s stewards after being found to have impeded Liam Lawson during Azerbaijan Grand Prix practice. 

Lawson, who was on a hot lap, was forced to take evasive action when he caught a slow-moving Hamilton through the flat-out left right handers leading onto the long start finish straight in Baku in second practice. 

The Racing Bulls driver reacted furiously over team radio, branding Hamilton’s actions “so dangerous”. 

Speaking after the incident, seven-time world champion Hamilton blamed the 2026 engine regulations for the near-miss, revealing that he was caught harvesting energy through the final sector.

While the stewards took Hamilton’s defence into consideration, they deemed the Ferrari driver guilty of “severe” and unnecessary impeding, pointing out the 41-year-old Briton had failed to follow the traffic-management instructions issued by the race director in his pre-event notes. 

The normal penalty for such an infringement during a free practice session would be a warning, but Hamilton was reprimanded due to the severity of the incident. 

“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’ verdict read. 

"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 ca 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. 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.

“Taking these circumstances into account, the Stewards impose a Driving Reprimand.”

It is Hamilton’s second reprimand of the 2026 season. He also received a reprimand for failing to slow for a yellow flag during the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. 

Drivers get four penalty-free reprimands per season but a fifth triggers an automatic 10-place grid penalty for the next race they contest.