Styrian GP: Yuki Tsunoda grid drop for Valtteri Bottas block moves George Russell into top 10

George Russell will start from inside the top 10 of the grid for the first time in his Williams career after AlphaTauri's Yuki Tsunoda was handed a grid penalty for blocking Valtteri Bottas in Styrian GP qualifying.

Russell had just missed out on a first Q3 appearance for Williams at his 47th race for the team by a mere eight thousandths of a second and been due to start 11th.

But the 23-year-old now gains a place on Sunday's grid to 10th after Tsunoda was shuffled back three places from eighth in a post-qualifying stewards' investigation.

Russell also maintains the advantage of being the first driver in the order with a free choice of fresh tyres for Sunday's race start. Those who take part in Q3 must start the race on the same tyres they set their quickest lap on in Q2.

The Briton has never previously started higher than 11th in three seasons for Williams and awaits his first points finish for the Grove team, who last scored points in 2019.

Russell does, however, famously have experience of the top-10 positions in F1 already when he qualified second and finished a luckless ninth in a starring stand-in drive for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in last December's Sakhir GP.

Alpine's Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin's Lance Stroll also gain a place apiece on Sunday's grid, with Tsunoda dropping back into Russell's original 11th-place spot.

Revised Styrian GP starting grid: Top 12
1) Max Verstappen, Red Bull
2) Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
3) Lando Norris, McLaren
4) Sergio Perez, Red Bull
5) Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes*
6) Pierre Gasly, AlphaTauri
7) Charles Leclerc, Ferrari
8) Fernando Alonso, Alpine
9) Lance Stroll, Aston Martin
10) George Russell, Williams
11) Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri*
12) Carlos Sainz, Ferrari

*three-place grid penalties applied

Full Starting Grid

Why was Tsunoda penalised?

Tsunoda impeded Bottas' Mercedes at Turn Four during Q3.

Stewards ruled that although Tsunoda's team did not warn the Japanese driver of the fact that Bottas was on a fast lap behind him, "it is the responsibility of every driver to be aware of faster cars when they are on a slow lap" and so "lack of communication is not an excuse for the driver".

Tsunoda had just finished his fast lap.