George Russell set to start United States Grand Prix from pit lane ...
George Russell is to start the United States Grand Prix from the pit lane with Mercedes needing to carry out repairs through the night on his car when it was meant to be sealed under par ferme conditions.
The Briton had qualified in P6 yesterday but his heavy crash at the end of Q3 brought proceedings to an early end at the Circuit of The Americas, with the double-waved yellow flags preventing others from having a chance of bettering eventual pole-sitter Lando Norris.
WATCH: Russell 'paid the price' as he suffers nightmare end to qualifying in Austin with high-speed spin into the barriers
With Mercedes having brought updates in Austin, Russell later confirmed that the team would not have enough spare parts to replicate the upgrades package before the Grand Prix, though also added that his team mate Lewis Hamilton – who had qualified a lowly P19 – had "kindly offered" to switch the elements required.
However, Mercedes have now confirmed Russell will start from the pit lane owing to the work that needed to be carried out in repairing his car and reverting to another specification.
"Unfortunately George will start today’s race from the pit lane," said a Mercedes spokesperson.
2024 United States GP Qualifying: Russell crashes out in dramatic end to Q3
"After yesterday’s accident, the team had to work through the night to revert on specification thus contravening Article 40.6 that says cars must be covered two hours after the end of qualifying."
The confirmation comes following the release of an earlier FIA technical document that stated: "The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team did not cover car number 63, driver George Russell, two (2) hours after the end of the qualifying session, but continued to work on the car.
"This is not in compliance with Article 40.6 of the 2024 Formula One Sporting Regulations."
READ MORE: Hamilton weighing up pit lane start after ‘demoralising’ Q1 exit at Circuit of The Americas
Russell's team mate Hamilton had himself called for a pit lane start following his disastrous qualifying on Saturday, telling Sky Sports F1: “I should probably start in the pit lane, otherwise I won’t be going anywhere from where I am.”
However, the seven-time world champion currently looks set to start on the grid from P17, having gained two places thanks to Russell's pit lane start and Liam Lawson's back-of-the-grid penalty.
