Lewis Hamilton has called for clearer FIA guidance on traffic management after his Azerbaijan Grand Prix FP2 impeding incident with Liam Lawson, arguing that the enormous speed difference created by hybrid energy deployment can make apparently safe gaps disappear extremely quickly. The Ferrari driver believes the issue should be discussed at the drivers’ briefing, both to reduce future impeding incidents and for safety reasons.
The subject emerged during Baku’s unusual weekend, with every session taking place one day earlier than on a conventional Formula 1 schedule. Hamilton unintentionally impeded Lawson during second practice when the Racing Bulls driver approached at a dramatically higher speed, an incident that later resulted in a driving reprimand for Lewis Hamilton.
Lewis Hamilton explains the huge speed gap behind Baku impeding
After FP2, the seven-time world champion explained why avoiding impeding has become particularly complicated in the 2026 cars at certain circuits.
“We discussed it and I’m sure we’ll also talk about it in the drivers’ briefing, considering the rules the FIA has given us this year,” Lewis Hamilton said. “When you arrive at a weekend, you don’t have data or simulations telling you: ‘Okay, when you get to the final corner and go full throttle, and you have 500 horsepower less than the car coming behind you on a lap, this is the gap you need to have before the car behind can catch you.’ They don’t tell you what the closing speed will be.”
Hamilton believed he had left enough room to Lawson before reaching the final part of the lap, only for the situation to change rapidly once the difference in available power became decisive.
“I was basically four seconds ahead of him,” Lewis Hamilton explained. “Coming to the final corner, I was pushing and I could see him, but I thought the gap was enough. When we got to Turn 18, the car simply lost power and he closed the gap massively.”
Hamilton stressed that he did not see the situation as something unique to him and believes more precise guidance is required.
“It could happen to anyone, so I think we need clearer guidance from them,” he added. “None of the drivers wants to get into trouble, nobody is trying to get in somebody else’s way. Our only objective is to get out of the way while also completing our lap.”
Why hybrid deployment creates such a large closing speed
The issue is linked to the way drivers manage electrical energy during preparation laps and slower laps. A driver preparing for a qualifying-style lap does not necessarily use the hybrid system’s available power throughout that lap, instead conserving energy so that it can be deployed where it delivers the greatest benefit on the following push lap.
In those phases, the car can therefore be relying predominantly on the internal-combustion engine. From a certain point onwards, the driver begins deploying the hybrid system to have the required power available on the straight and maximise performance on the flying lap.
The difference becomes particularly significant when a driver already on a competitive lap is using the available hybrid energy while the car ahead is not. Even if the slower car is at full throttle, the performance delta can be enormous, allowing the faster car to close what initially appeared to be a comfortable gap in only a few seconds.
That was the central issue in the Hamilton-Lawson episode. It also adds another dimension to Ferrari’s work around energy deployment on Baku’s long acceleration zones, where managing electrical power is particularly important. The speed differences recorded across Formula 1 sessions can also be explored through the ScuderiaFans F1 Top Speed Comparison.
Liam Lawson agrees the situation is difficult to manage
Liam Lawson supported the same explanation after FP2, acknowledging that the regulations and the enormous speed differential can create a difficult situation for both drivers.
“Unfortunately, it’s just the way things are regulated: a situation like that can happen and, obviously, when you’re the car coming from behind it’s pretty risky, regardless of which of the two drivers you are, to be honest,” Liam Lawson said.
The Racing Bulls driver explained that Hamilton had initially appeared to have more than enough space ahead of him.
“But, honestly, there’s not much you can do when you look at the situation. Lewis comes out of Turn 16 at full throttle, he has two or three seconds on me, which normally is more than enough, but the speed difference is simply enormous. He isn’t using any power, while I’m using everything available, and there is a speed difference of 60, 70, 80 km/h. The problem is that, if he moves before Turn 18 and slows down, and then there is another car behind me, the speed difference becomes enormous.”
Lawson therefore believes any solution would need to address the situation before drivers reach that section of the circuit.
“So it’s something we need to look at overnight, to understand whether we can do anything,” Liam Lawson continued. “Honestly, though, it should be something that happens before Turn 16, because once you’ve come out of that corner and you’ve already committed, there really isn’t anything you can do anymore. It was simply an unfortunate incident.”
Hamilton proposes full power through Turns 18 and 19
Hamilton confirmed that he intends to raise the issue at the drivers’ briefing, with the aim of finding a procedure that can prevent or at least significantly reduce similar impeding situations.
“I think we’ll talk about it in the drivers’ briefing, to understand what we can do,” Lewis Hamilton said. “I told them that, when we do a flying lap, on that single lap, we should have maximum power available coming out of the final corner. When you go through Turn 19, the system resets and you have a little more power compared with the other car.”
His proposed solution is to remove the possibility of drivers travelling slowly through the final high-speed sequence, even when they are not on a competitive lap.
“It should simply be forbidden to go slowly through Turns 18 and 19,” Hamilton added. “Even if you’re on a slow lap, you should still take Turns 18 and 19 at full throttle and with all the power available. That way nobody would ever be going slowly through that section. I think it’s something we’ll discuss in the drivers’ briefing.”
The discussion comes as Ferrari continues to analyse a difficult opening day in Azerbaijan, during which Hamilton still found encouraging signs despite finishing FP2 1.3 seconds off the pace. With FP3 and qualifying next on the programme, the complete timings for the unconventional weekend are available in the 2026 Azerbaijan Grand Prix schedule.
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