George Russell stripped of front-row starts at Ricard European F3

The 18-year-old Briton's Hitech Grand Prix Dallara-Mercedes was found not to have the necessary 1kg of fuel available for a sample in scrutineering after the second qualifying session, which decides the grid for races two and three.

Russell will be allowed to start each of those two races from 21st - and last - on the grid.

Hitech director Oliver Oakes said: "We can't dress it up to be honest - we just didn't have enough fuel.

"The car itself is over the weight limit, but sadly we were 100g short of the fuel required for a sample."

Russell will still start race one from fourth on the grid, which was decided by first qualifying.

Both Russell and the Hitech team are pleased with form this weekend on a track where the team had not run before Thursday's official test, and where neither Russell nor team-mates Ben Barnicoat and Nikita Mazepin had driven.

"It's a shame for George," Oakes added. "He did a good job and this [the exclusion] is just an anomaly.

"He did a mega job in all the qualifying sessions - it's sad but rules are rules.

"But what I care about is that George is doing so well and he was close to Prema [the dominant F3 team of the past five years], and that's great for the championship."