Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton has leapt to the defence of his former Mercedes teammate George Russell, insisting the Azerbaijan Grand Prix winner did nothing wrong at the safety car restart in Baku. Arvid Lindblad, the 19-year-old Racing Bulls rookie, had branded the restart dangerous, with the field stopping and starting along the circuit's two-kilometre straight. Yet Hamilton stood firmly behind his compatriot. "It felt fine for me," the seven-time world champion said. "He did what I would have done."
Russell explained that the new 2026 power units demand far more thought at restarts, with drivers having to manage battery deployment precisely and keep the turbos spinning at the right speed. Tellingly, even Lando Norris and Pierre Gasly, whose races ended in the pile-up behind him, refused to blame the leader, stressing that the driver in front is entitled to control the pace as he sees fit. Still, Lindblad expects the issue to be raised at next week's FIA drivers' briefing in Malaysia, where this season's Bahrain Grand Prix has been relocated.
