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George Russell will lose his grid position of sixth and start the United States Grand Prix from the pit lane after Mercedes had to make changes to his car following his qualifying crash.
Mercedes brought an upgraded floor to Austin for both Russell and team-mate Lewis Hamilton, but do not have any spare versions of the new parts.
The team confirmed to Sky Sports F1 on Sunday morning that Russell, who severely damaged his car with a heavy crash at Turn 19, has therefore had to revert to a previous specification of the W15, which results in a breach of parc ferme conditions and a pit lane start.
The scale of the job to change the specification resulted in a further breach of the rules that would also result in a pit lane start, with Mercedes continuing to work on the car beyond the cut-off time two hours after the end of qualifying.
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Highlights of Saturday’s qualifying from the United States Grand Prix
A Mercedes spokesperson said: “Following George’s accident in qualifying, we had to work on the car overnight during the cars covered period. He will therefore start from the pit lane today.
“The workload involved in that was due to reverting on specification to what we ran in Singapore.”
The FIA have yet to officially confirm Russell’s pit lane start but will do so before the beginning of the race, which is live on Sky Sports F1 at 8pm.
Hamilton, who endured a disastrous qualifying as he finished 19th, is now set to start from 17th, with RB’s Liam Lawson relegated to the back of the grid due to penalties for exceeding his engine part allowance.
Hamilton said after qualifying that he would consider starting from the pit lane in order to alter his setup in an attempt to improve his pace, but Mercedes currently appear to have chosen to keep the seven-time world champion starting on the grid.
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Lewis Hamilton drops out of Q1 at the United States Grand Prix
As a result of Russell’s pit lane start, Pierre Gasly is promoted to sixth on the grid – the highest starting position for an Alpine driver this season.
Lando Norris is starting from pole as the McLaren driver seeks to reduce Max Verstappen’s 54-point world championship lead, with the Red Bull driver joining the Brit on the front row.
Sky Sports F1’s live United States GP schedule
Sunday October 20
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: United States GP build-up*
8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Chequered Flag: United States GP reaction
11pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event (Sunday’s race build-up from 7.15pm)
Watch the United States GP at 8pm on Sunday, with build-up from 6.30pm live on Sky Sports F1. Stream every F1 race and more with a NOW Sports Month Membership – No contract, cancel anytime
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