Hamilton puts the blame firmly on one factor after scary close call with Lawson

The pair came together on Baku's long straight, where the cars reach speeds of more than 300 km/h, with Lawson closing rapidly on Hamilton's Mercedes. Hamilton appeared not to realise that Lawson was approaching until very late, forcing the New Zealander into a frightening situation as the two cars came dangerously close to each other.

Lawson immediately made his feelings clear over the team radio, repeatedly voicing his frustration after what he considered a highly dangerous moment.

Speaking at the end of the day, Hamilton explained that drivers currently have no data or simulations indicating how much of a gap they need to leave when approaching the final corner, particularly because a car behind can have significantly more power available on the following straight.

In his case, he estimated that he was around four seconds ahead of Lawson when entering the final corner and believed the gap was sufficient. However, once he went to full throttle, his car effectively lost power while Lawson's closed the gap rapidly, catching Hamilton by surprise.

The Ferrari driver stressed that such a situation could happen to any driver and called for clearer guidelines to prevent similar incidents. He suggested that, during qualifying laps, drivers should be required to maintain full throttle and maximum power through Turns 18 and 19, even when on a cooldown lap, as this would reduce the risk of cars approaching the final corner at significantly different speeds.