Miami Grand Prix 2024: Alex Albon faces penalty ahead of sprint race in Florida

The FIA confirmed that Williams driver Alex Albon will begin the F1 Sprint in Miami from the pit lane. Originally, he was supposed to start in 19th place, but his time was deleted because he went outside the track limits. 

Then, his Williams team decided to adjust his car's setup before the race. He had to start from the pit lane instead of his original position. The changes made to his car, called the FW46, were related to its suspension. These adjustments were done while the vehicle was under "parc fermé" conditions, which means certain restrictions apply to the changes teams can make.

After the sprint race, the parc fermé will reopen. This means teams can make any changes they want to their cars before they go back on the track later today for the qualifying session for Sunday's big race.

Mercedes will start low! 

Meanwhile, Albon's teammate, Logan Sargeant, will start just ahead of him in 18th place. Behind Sargeant is Valtteri Bottas, who got a grid penalty for blocking  Oscar Piastri during sprint qualifying.

On the other hand, both drivers for Mercedes will also have a second-half start. After failing to qualify for the third round of sprint qualifications on Friday  Lewis Hamilton and George Russell will start from 11th and 12th position. 

The team will be looking to get some good results as they have consistently failed to get a podium finish. Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen is looking in great touch and will start with pole position. A victory here will mark his record fourth consecutive Sprint victory.