FIA confirms Lewis Hamilton punishment after ‘dangerous’ Liam Lawson incident
Lewis Hamilton has had a few run ins with the FIA over the course of his F1 career
Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton has been hit with a reprimand following an impeding incident with Liam Lawson in FP2 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Hamilton was classified fifth in Thursday’s second practice session in Baku as Mercedes driver George Russell set the pace, with the Ferrari driver summoned to the stewards after a close call with Lawson’s Racing Bulls car.
Lewis Hamilton given reprimand after FIA investigation at Azerbaijan GP
Lawson encountered a slow-moving Hamilton at Turn 19, the fast right-hander leading on to the long back straight in Azerbaijan.
The Racing Bulls driver was heard airing his frustration over team radio, branding Hamilton’s positioning “f**cking dangerous.”
Lawson said to his Racing Bulls team: “That is so f**cking dangerous. Oh my God! Dude, that is so dangerous.”
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Following a stewards’ investigation, the FIA has announced that Hamilton has been given a reprimand.
It marks Hamilton’s second ‘driving reprimand’ of the F1 2026 season, with drivers facing an automatic grid penalty if they accumulate five reprimands for driving offences over the course of a campaign.
The stewards’ verdict read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 44 (Lewis Hamilton), the driver of Car 30 (Liam Lawson), team representatives and reviewed video, timing, telemetry, team radio and in-car video evidence.
“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 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.
“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.”
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