US GP: Mercedes’ George Russell starts from the pit lane

George Russell will start the United States Grand Prix from the pit lane after his accident in qualifying forced Mercedes to revert to old specification parts on his car.

Russell qualified sixth on Saturday but crashed on his second flying lap at the penultimate corner, ending the session early.

Repairs to Russell’s Mercedes continued into the evening, breaking parc ferme rules that prevent teams from working on cars for two hours after qualifying.

Damage to upgrades to its car for this weekend forced Mercedes to revert to the specification of parts used at the Singapore Grand Prix four weeks ago, which also breached parc ferme rules.

As a result of the changes, Russell will start from the pit lane and the cars that would start behind him from seventh will move up one field.

Russell’s teammate, Lewis Hamilton, will now start the race from 17th on the grid after struggling with the car in qualifying and being eliminated in the opening session.