Hulkenberg hit with 10-second time penalty over Alonso incident in Austria Sprint

Nico Hulkenberg has been handed a 10-second time penalty – along with two penalty points – after being deemed to have forced Fernando Alonso off the track during a battle in the Austria Sprint.

The Haas driver had attempted a move on Alonso into Turn 3 on Lap 21, before locking up and missing the apex.

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With Hulkenberg having understeered near the edge of the track, this also forced the Aston Martin off the tarmac, dropping Alonso down to P15 before he was then overtaken for that position by RB’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Hulkenberg crossed the line in 14th but, after the incident was reviewed by the stewards, the German was hit with a 10-second time penalty, meaning that 10 seconds will be added on to his elapsed Sprint time which looks set to drop him down to 19th.

With attentions now turning to qualifying ahead of Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix, Hulkenberg will be hoping to improve his fortunes, having started the Sprint from P17 after exiting Sprint Qualifying in SQ1.