Albon hit with penalty ahead of Miami sprint race

Alex Albon will start the F1 Sprint at Miami from the pit lane, the FIA has confirmed.

Albon was due to take the start of the shorter Saturday race from 19th position after having his SQ1 lap time deleted for exceeding track limits.

However, his Williams crew opted to make set-up changes to his car ahead of the race, demoting him to a pit lane start.

The changes to the FW46 relate to suspension, which were carried out while the car was under parc fermé conditions.

Parc fermé will reopen after the sprint race, allowing teams to make any changes they desire before the cars head back out onto the track later today to qualify for Sunday's grand prix.

Albon's team-mate Logan Sargeant will start the race from 18th, with Valtteri Bottas behind after the Finn driver was handed a grid penalty for impeding Oscar Piastri during sprint qualifying.