03 November 2023 , 22:00
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George Russell has been given a two-place grid penalty for the Brazilian Grand Prix after breaking a new Formula 1 rule about blocking rivals in the pit lane.
The Brit had gone sixth fastest on the road in Q3. And he was due to share the third row of the grid with team-mate Lewis Hamilton who qualified one place ahead.
But the seven-time world champion will instead be lining up alongside Lando Norris for Sunday's race. Russell was been dropped to eighth on the grid for getting in the way of Pierre Gasly in the pit exit during the session.
He was reported by the race director for failing to follow pre-event instructions in that regard. Drivers were told they could not drive unnecessarily slowly in the pit lane and block their fellow competitors.
They were given permission to create room on track for themselves in the pit exit. But they were instructed specifically to keep to the left to let others by if they wanted and Russell failed to do that.
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So when the matter was referred to the stewards, it seemed inevitable that a punishment was heading the Mercedes driver's way. And it duly came several hours after the end of qualifying when it was announced that Russell had been dropped to eighth on the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.
Explaining the decision, the stewards wrote: "Car 63 [Russell] was driving slowly in the pit exit and was not as far to the left as possible. The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 63, the team representative and reviewed in-car video evidence.
"In order to avoid situations like the ones that occurred in Mexico, the Race Director's Event Notes for this event contained a specific clause (item 14) stipulating that it was permitted to go slow in the pit exit to create a gap before crossing the SC2 line, however, by doing so, a driver must stay as far to the left as possible to allow other drivers to pass on the right side.
"Russell was exiting the pits, preparing for an out lap. Russell went slow to create a gap for a clear lap, but did not manage to stay completely to the left. As a result, following car(s) were not able to overtake, as intended by the Race Director’s instructions. "This clearly violates the wording and the spirit of item 14 of the Race Director's Event Notes.
Max Verstappen took pole position for the Grand Prix, beating Charles Leclerc to top spot. That was after the first flying laps of Q3, but the session was ended prematurely by a sudden storm before anyone could try to topple the Red Bull racer.