F1 News: George Russell Handed Grid Penalty For Austin GP Sprint Race

George Russell has been handed a 3-place grid penalty for the Austin GP Sprint Race.

George Russell has been handed a three-place grid penalty for the Austin GP Sprint Race which is due to take place in a couple of hours. 

The Mercedes driver was summoned to the Stewards after the Sprint Shootout as he was being investigated for potentially impeding Charles Leclerc, and it has now been confirmed that he has been given a three-place grid penalty for this. 

Originally due to start the race in eighth position, Russell will now start from eleventh. The letter from the Stewards states:

"Car 63 [George Russell] entered the last two corners preparing for his flying lap at the end of SQ1 with Car 16 [Charles Leclerc] closing in quickly. Whilst the team did inform the driver about the closing car a few seconds in advance, there was no further information directly before Car 63 entered Turn 19 with Car 16 right behind. Car 63 did not move from the racing line in or after Turn 19 and therefore unnecessarily impeded Car 16."

The grid move for the British driver sees Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, and Daniel Ricciardo all gain a place on the starting grid. 

Austin GP: When And How To Watch The Sprint Race

This is now the starting grid for the Sprint Race this afternoon:

1. Max Verstappen
2. Charles Leclerc
3. Lewis Hamilton
4. Lando Norris
5. Oscar Piastri
6. Carlos Sainz
7. Sergio Perez
8. Alex Albon
9. Pierre Gasly
10. Daniel Ricciardo
11. George Russell
12. Fernando Alonso
13. Esteban Ocon
14. Lance Stroll
15. Zhou Guanyu
16. Nico Hulkenberg
17. Kevin Magnussen
18. Valtteri Bottas
19. Yuki Tsunoda
20. Logan Sargeant