Hamilton accepts "full responsibility" for Austrian GP penalty

Lewis Hamilton has accepted "full responsibility" for a mistake that led to his Austrian Grand Prix grid drop after impeding Kimi Raikkonen during qualifying. 

The Formula 1 world championship leader qualified second but has been hit with a three-place grid penalty, meaning he will now start Sunday's race from fourth in Spielberg. 

Hamilton was found guilty of "unneccesarily impeding" Raikkonen during Q1 as the Mercedes driver straight-lined Turn 3 in an attempt to get out of the Finn's way, though he still appeared to block Raikkonen. 

Following his penalty, Hamilton took to social media to say: "Totally deserved the penalty today and have no problem accepting it.

"Was a mistake on my behalf and I take full responsibility for it. It wasn't intentional. Anyway, tomorrow is another day and opportunity to rise.

"These things are sent to try us," he added. "We all have to push through whatever it is we are up against, whether right or wrong, just continue to believe in yourself.

"We have the power to overcome obstacles even when they appear too large a task. Stay on course and never give up."

Hamilton's penalty has promoted Red Bull's Max Verstappen to the front-row alongside polesitter Charles Leclerc, with Valtteri Bottas moving up to third.