Lewis Hamilton reveals why he failed to follow Ferrari F1 team orders

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton reveals why he failed to follow Ferrari team orders

Lewis Hamilton was ordered to allow Charles Leclerc past in Baku

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Monday 22 September 2025 11:57 Updated: 13:39

Lewis Hamilton has confirmed the reason he was unable to follow a late Ferrari command at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Hamilton ended up finishing eighth in Baku, one place and just four tenths of a second in front of team-mate Charles Leclerc.

The seven-time world champion had overtaken Leclerc earlier in the race after he was on a different strategy and at that point he had a much faster car.

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But at the very end of the race Ferrari decided to allow Leclerc back through.

However, while Hamilton slowed down and even braked before the line to allow his team-mate to pass, he didn't do it quick enough meaning he still finished in front.

Hamilton reveals he will apologise to Leclerc

Now the British star has broken his silence over the incident.

Hamilton said: "Firstly...obviously I was quicker [in that moment of the race] but Charles was gracious to let me by.

"At the end I got the message really late on, and I was like zoned in on the car in front of me, even though there was like 0.0001 per cent chance of passing, I was still hopeful maybe.

"And basically I did lift on the straight, and did actually brake, but he missed it by like four tenths.

"That was just a misjudgement by myself. I'll apologise to Charles. At the end of the day that's [only] eighth and ninth."

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F1 Lewis Hamilton