Hamilton learns stewards’ verdict after ‘dangerous’ Azerbaijan FP2 incident with Lawson

With around 20 minutes of FP2 action to go, Lawson was caught out by a slowly moving Hamilton and took no time to voice his frustration with the seven-time world champion. “That is so f**cking dangerous. Oh my God! Dude, that is so dangerous,” said the Kiwi, back in the VCARB-03 after a three-race run out for Red Bull in place of Isack Hadjar.

The Ferrari driver was immediately noted by the stewards, with an investigation having taken place after the session involving both Hamilton and Lawson, alongside team representatives.

In their verdict, the stewards have said: "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.

As explained by the stewards, the usual penalty for an impeding infringement during Free Practice is a warning unless it is dangerous or with intent, and that while intent was not involved in the Hamilton-Lawson incident, the Briton's impeding has been classed as "severe."

The verdict added: "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.

As for how the Briton performed in FP2, Hamilton finished Friday’s action in P5, a whopping 1.3s down on Mercedes’ George Russell in P1, while his teammate Charles Leclerc was a place ahead of him in fourth – two tenths up on the 41-year-old.

Lawson, who returns to the sister team after filling in for Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar after the Frenchman’s wrist injury prior to F1’s return at the Dutch GP, finished P12 in Baku – nearly four tenths from the top ten, but ahead of his teammate Arvid Lindblad, whose Turn 8 crash brought out the Red Flag during second practice.