F1 News
Russell receives grid penalty for blocking Daniil Kvyat during qualifying
- Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
Williams rookie George Russell has been given a three-place grid penalty for impeding Daniil Kvyat's flying lap during Q1, as the Brit forced the Toro Rosso driver to go off track between turn 9 and 10 at the end of the session.
Kvyat was on pace to improve on his time, which was not good enough to get out of Q1. However, in the run up to the penultimate corner, the FW42 of Russell appeared after the blind turn 9.
The Russian was caught off guard and took evasive action, effectively binning his hot lap. Incredibly frustrating for him, as he was convinced his car could make it out of Q1.
After qualifying, the stewards decided to give Russell a penalty for the incident.
3 posiciones en parrilla de penalización para Russell por bloquear a Kvyat.
— Albert Fabrega (@AlbertFabrega) June 29, 2019
3 grid positions penalty for Russell for impeding Kvyat. pic.twitter.com/UJLLSaKlVy
Russell took to his social media to apologise for the incident, pleading his innocence but still holding his hands up as culpable.
Happy with my lap but a shame how Quali ended.
— George Russell (@GeorgeRussell63) June 29, 2019
Apologies for ruining your lap @kvyatofficial - I had no idea you were coming.#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/Le49B5nhFR
In the end, Russell will only drop one place behind teammate Robert Kubica, as Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon have taken bigger grid penalties for swapping power units.