At Turn 9 of Sepang’s second practice on Friday afternoon, an Audi had to swerve. The car ahead was Lewis Hamilton’s Ferrari, and within an hour the FIA had put the seven-time world champion on the stewards’ schedule for the day.
Gabriel Bortoleto’s reaction over team radio was blunt. Grande Prêmio reported his message to his Audi engineer as “What the fuck is this guy doing, man?” The engineer answered that Hamilton was on a cooldown lap.
A later exchange, carried by PlanetF1, had Bortoleto pushing back on that excuse: “I know, but he sees me coming and he just keeps blocking.”
Hamilton’s own radio told a different story. “I can’t see through my right mirror, so keep me up to date,” he told his Ferrari engineer, flagging a hardware problem that the stewards will now have to weigh against the on-track evidence.
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Hearing at 5:30pm local time
The FIA summons named Hamilton and Bortoleto and listed the incident at Turn 9, a slow left-hander in the middle sector. The hearing was set for 5:30pm local time on Friday, with a Ferrari team representative required to attend alongside the driver.
Impeding in practice is typically punished with a grid penalty, usually three places, when the stewards find the leading car failed to give sufficient room on a hot lap. A broken mirror is a mitigation Ferrari can plead, but it rarely clears the driver entirely under FIA precedent.
Why Bahrain is racing at Sepang
The investigation lands on an unusual race weekend. The 2026 Bahrain Grand Prix was originally scheduled for 12 April at Bahrain International Circuit, but Iranian attacks on facilities near the circuit forced the cancellation of the race. Under an agreement between Formula 1, the FIA and the governments of Bahrain and Malaysia, the race was reinstated and moved to Sepang, which hosted a Grand Prix every year from 1999 to 2017. The event runs 2 to 4 October 2026 under the Bahrain Grand Prix name, with ticket revenue returning to Bahrain.
For Hamilton, a penalty would be an unwelcome end to a mixed Friday. Teammate Charles Leclerc topped the FP2 timesheet for Ferrari, according to Sky Sports, while the Briton’s session ended with his car under scrutiny rather than on the pace.
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Qualifying for the Bahrain Grand Prix at Sepang is scheduled for Saturday. The stewards’ decision on the impeding note is expected before the end of Friday evening local time.
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