Hamilton starts Austrian GP from 5th after grid penalty

SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton will start Sunday’s season-opening Austrian Grand Prix from fifth spot, after stewards gave him a three-place grid penalty following an incident in Saturday’s qualifying.

It means Max Verstappen starts from second place behind Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas in pole position, and that McLaren’s Lando Norris jumps up to third and Red Bull’s Alexander Albon goes from fourth.

The decision was made because Hamilton failed to slow under a yellow flag after his Mercedes teammate Bottas had spun off the track late on in qualifying.

No action was taken when stewards reviewed the incident on Saturday evening but Red Bull asked for another review and presented video footage.

“The Stewards acknowledged that the on-board footage of car 44 (Hamilton’s car) represents a significant new element that had not been available,” governing body FIA said Sunday.

“Taking into account these facts, the stewards determine that (the) decision will be reversed and the above mentioned penalty is being imposed.”