Azerbaijan GP FP2: Stewards Issue Reprimand in Baku
The Lewis Hamilton Baku reprimand is confirmed. FIA stewards handed Hamilton a driving reprimand on Friday evening for seriously impeding Liam Lawson during second practice for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. It’s his second reprimand of the 2026 season, and it came after a tense exchange on team radio through Baku’s brutal final sector.
Lawson caught up with Hamilton’s slower car as he chased a flying lap through the fast left-right sequence that leads onto the main straight. He was forced to lift and brake to stay clear, and he made his feelings known the moment he was back on the radio.
FP2 Incident: Lewis Hamilton and Liam Lawson at Turn 19
Lawson didn’t hold back. He called Hamilton’s positioning “so dangerous” as the two cars converged at wildly different speeds, one on an out lap, one flat out and hunting a lap time.
Stewards confirmed Hamilton had already been warned about the approaching Lawson before the incident happened:
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
Those two warnings made the outcome harder for Hamilton to explain. He still didn’t move over in time, and Lawson lost momentum at the exact point he needed it most.
Traffic Rules and Energy Harvesting: The 2026 Engine Regulations
Baku’s final sector comes with its own rulebook. Drivers on slower laps are expected to hug the left-hand side of the track well before the fast run to Turn 19, giving faster cars room to come through untroubled. Stewards set out exactly what’s demanded of a driver in Hamilton’s position that evening:
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.
Hamilton stayed too central for too long, and by the time Lawson arrived, there was nowhere for him to go but off the throttle. The stewards’ findings spell it out:
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.
Hamilton pointed to this year’s power unit rules as part of the explanation, saying he was low on stored energy through that section, which opened up a bigger gap in pace than usual. Stewards accepted that this is a real headache under the current regulations:
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.
Penalty Tally: Hamilton Reaches Second Reprimand of 2026
Impeding another car in practice usually earns nothing more than a warning. Stewards explained why they went further this time:
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.
That assessment of severity is what tipped the case into reprimand territory. The stewards’ final line left no doubt:
Taking these circumstances into account, the Stewards impose a Driving Reprimand.
That’s the story behind the Lewis Hamilton Baku reprimand, and it leaves him with two for the season. His first came at Silverstone this summer, when he was penalised for not backing off under yellow flags. Drivers can carry four reprimands without punishment; a fifth in the same season brings an automatic 10-place grid drop.
Hamilton has some breathing room, but it’s a tally we’ll be watching given how busy his season has been away from the stewards’ room. There’s more on that in Hamilton’s comments on the calendar finish line and his response to Ferrari staff rumours. The full verdict from Baku is covered in the Crash.net report on the Baku stewards verdict.
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