Lewis Hamilton will start eighth on the grid at the Austrian Grand Prix while Valtteri Bottas is in pole and Sebastian Vettel second
Brit struggled in qualifying as he trails rival by 14 points in the Drivers' Championship
LEWIS HAMILTON'S week went from bad to worse and will start down in EIGHTH place for the Austrian GP.
The Brit faces a huge task now if he is to chip away at Sebastian Vettel's 14-point lead in the championship.
The two, who clashed in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, has been hit with a five-place penalty for an unscheduled gearbox change.
It is a huge blow for Hamilton, who risks getting caught up in the melee going into the first corner.
Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas took pole while Vettel was second in his Ferrari.
Hamilton tried to make up time in his final flying lap but a mistake early on wrecked his chances of bettering Bottas's time.
He said: "Congratulations to Valtteri. He did a fantastic job, I am happy to be third but it was just not meant to be today.
"I will do the best job I can I will try to get up there with Valtteri and be a one-two on the podium."
Bottas added: "It feels good. I enjoyed it and the car was getting better and better..."
Meanwhile, Vettel, who escaped punishment, despite ramming Hamilton in the last race, is now targeting a win.
Vettel said: "I was not quick enough but I am very happy I was hoping for a late run but it was an anti-climax with the yellow flags.
"It is a long race, we will see what can happen. It will be a tough race with Valtteri as he has been quick all weekend."
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The McLaren duo of Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne qualified in 11th and 12th place respectively.
But there was more misery for Brit Jolyon Palmer after he qualified way down in 16th place in his Renault.
Palmer, who was particularly down-beat at the last race in Baku, is struggling for form and facing increased pressure as questions about his future in the team continue to grow.
He said: "I thought we were looking strong and today it got away from us. It was very close."
Palmer is also set to face a grilling by race bosses for blocking Kimi Raikkonen.
