Lewis Hamilton's proposal to reduce the dangers of cars tripping over each other in the final corners of the Baku circuit has been rejected by Formula 1 teams. The Ferrari driver highlighted the near-miss incident with Liam Lawson during Thursday practice, where Lawson had to take avoiding action at 300km/h to avoid hitting the back of Hamilton's car through Turns 18/19.
That incident exposed a flaw in the 2026 F1 energy regulations. Energy-starved cars create a massive speed offset between drivers on out laps and those on push laps. Drivers preparing for a fast lap conserve battery until closer to the start-finish line, so they run through Turns 18/19 without any extra deployment.
Hamilton felt that closing speeds of 50km/h and the difficulty of judging gaps at full throttle without maximum power required a rethink on energy management. During a hearing with the stewards on Thursday night to discuss the Lawson incident—which earned Hamilton a reprimand—he suggested the FIA mandate full energy use until after Turn 19. "I said to them what they should do is on a single lap, when we're doing a push lap, we get max power out of the last corner. Then, when you come through Turn 19, it resets, and you have a little bit more power in here. There should just be nobody going slow ever through Turns 18/19," said Hamilton.
According to The-Race, the suggestion was brought up in Thursday night's drivers' briefing. However, it did not gather support as teams felt it was too late in the weekend to make such a dramatic shift in energy deployment. A revision to battery usage onto the main straight would have left teams needing to start their energy preparations from scratch, with only one hour of practice left before qualifying.
F1 race director Rui Marques had already requested drivers on out laps to stay well off the racing line between Turns 16 and 18. Lawson was the victim of that instruction being ignored, leading to Hamilton's reprimand after FP2.
The rejection of Hamilton's idea reflects the dilemma between safety and technical practicality. Teams argue that a major change to energy rules mid-competition could disrupt strategies already in place. Nevertheless, the Baku incident serves as a warning that the 2026 energy regulations need further evaluation.
With racing getting tighter, driver safety must remain a priority. Will the FIA reconsider a similar proposal in the future? Only time will tell, but for now, the status quo remains in Baku.
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