Hamilton warned and Ferrari fined €10,000 for Sepang impeding in FP2

Lewis Hamilton has received a warning and Ferrari a €10,000 fine after the stewards ruled that he unnecessarily impeded Gabriel Bortoleto during second practice for the 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia.

A damaged mirror and a huge speed difference

Hamilton was travelling at approximately 80–85 km/h when Bortoleto approached from behind at around 240 km/h. As the Ferrari moved from the middle of the track towards the racing line, Bortoleto had to brake and take evasive action.

Bortoleto was on an out lap, rather than a flying lap. However, the ruling made clear that this did not excuse the obstruction: “The fact that BOR was not on a push lap does not alter that conclusion.”

The stewards also considered whether the incident amounted to dangerous impeding, given the substantial closing speed and Hamilton’s responsibility to take extra care with impaired visibility. Bortoleto confirmed that he remained in control and was able to avoid the Ferrari.

Balancing those circumstances, the panel imposed the standard practice-session penalty of a warning, with no grid penalty.

Why Ferrari was fined

Ferrari’s responsibility was assessed separately. Both teams explained that warnings are not normally given when an approaching driver is not on a push lap.

But Ferrari knew Hamilton’s mirror was damaged. The stewards therefore concluded that it should have warned him about significantly faster traffic regardless of the approaching car’s run programme.

That failure to provide appropriate information resulted in the €10,000 fine.

The ruling closes an incident from a session in which Charles Leclerc topped FP2 and Hamilton finished fifth, leaving Ferrari with the fastest afternoon lap but a costly communication lapse.