Bottas hit with grid penalty

Valtteri Bottas has been hit with a three-place grid penalty for impeding Daniel Ricciardo during qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

The two drivers were called to see the stewards after the conclusion of qualifying after Bottas was seen holding up Ricciardo at the final corner as the Red Bull tried to complete a lap and Bottas started his final attempt in Q2. Despite Ricciardo progressing to Q3 and Bottas dropping out, the stewards decided that there was a significant enough impediment for Bottas to be handed a penalty.

Explaining the decision, the stewards said: "The driver did not pay attention to the approaching car and continued to impede car 3 through Turns 14 and 15."

The penalty sees Bottas drop from 15th to 18th place on the grid, and he also receives two penalty points as a result of being penalised for a driving incident.

Speaking prior to the penalty being handed out, Bottas had said he was not expecting there to be any punishment for the incident.