Nico Hulkenberg hit with three-place grid penalty for Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

After producing his best qualifying result of the season in Abu Dhabi, Nico Hulkenberg has been hit with a three-place grid drop for failing to follow the race director's instructions by overtaking two cars on the pit exit road.

The Haas driver had qualified in P4, setting him up for a strong start to the 58-lap race at the Yas Marina Circuit, but he will now be demoted to seventh on the grid behind Pierre Gasly and George Russell.

In a document published by the FIA, the stewards explained: "The driver did not dispute during the hearing that he did not follow the Race Director’s instructions, but stated that he had no other option but to breach the rules in order to get a lap in.

"Whilst the Stewards acknowledge that the position of the team’s garages limits their options to send the cars out on track, this can never be used as an excuse to breach any regulations.

"The prohibition of overtaking in certain areas as the pit lane or, in this case, the pit exit, is implemented to prevent potentially dangerous situations and therefore the Stewards determine that a grid drop is warranted in this case."

Nico Hulkenberg talks to the media in the Paddock after qualifying ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on December 07, 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Peter Fox - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images) — Hulkenberg will still start ahead of his team mate Kevin Magnussen as Haas look to take P6 from Alpine in the constructors'

The German driver previously admitted just after qualifying that he was surprised by his performance, saying: “I was expecting a top-10 result for sure because that’s where we’ve been all weekend, pretty session every much – so I knew that was a must do.

“But P4 is definitely more than what I expected and hoped for. [It was a] very strong session, which goes down to a strong performing car and good team effort.”

He will have to extract that pace again in Sunday's race, as his penalty could have far-reaching effects on Haas's ambitions to snatch P6 away from Alpine. The Enstone outfit are five points ahead in the standings, and with Gasly now starting ahead of Hulkenberg, he will be targeting a significant recovery drive to outscore their rivals.

“It’s going to be a tight and tough battle," the 37-year-old explained. “Alpine has been strong lately but we are all so close together – so it really comes down to all the racing moments, like strategy etc.

“It’s important for me personally that we maximise tomorrow, leave nothing out there and hopefully we can have a happy night.”