HUNGARORING -- Daniil Kvyat has been docked three grid positions ahead of the Hungarian Grand Prix grid after he impeded Lance Stroll during the opening session of qualifying.
He was also given a tenth penalty point on his FIA super licence for the incident, meaning he is now just two points away from a race ban.
Kvyat was recovering from a spin at Turn 4 when Stroll's Williams closed up behind him on a fast lap at Turn 11.
The Toro Rosso driver was nursing his car back to the pits due to vibrations from his flat-spotted tyres, but the stewards believed he should have made a greater effort to move out of the way given that it was the end of Q1 and other drivers would be completing quick laps.
"The stewards examined video, driver radio communications, timing data, telemetry and car positioning data evidence and heard from Daniil Kvyat, the driver of car 26, Lance Stroll, the driver of car 18 and the team representatives," a stewards statement read.
"The stewards determined that Kvyat was on an exceptionally slow lap having spun earlier and damaged his tyres. The stewards acknowledged that he was warned by the team very late of the approach of Stroll who was on a fast lap.
"Further, Kyvat pulled as far to the right as he could as soon as he saw Stroll. However, the stewards considered that these were not mitigating factors.
"Kyvat was driving exceptionally slowly and taking the racing line at the end of Q1 when other drivers were attempting to set fast laps and this led to the unnecessary impeding."
However, Kvyat claimed he had no warning over pit-to-car radio and believes the stewards are simply trying to make an example out of him.
"I hadn't received any call from the team radio. They did not tell me that anybody was coming and I was asked to bring the car in slowly because of the vibrations.
"The approach speed was so different that when I saw him I went on the grass almost, but for them that was not enough, event that. They like to make an example out of me."
Kvyat's disciplinary record over the last year makes grim reading. His latest penalty leaves him in a precarious position as just two more points would make 12 for the 12 month period and automatically result in a race ban. He will need to be on his best behaviour until the day after the US Grand Prix when the first two of his 10 points are due to expire.
Kvyat will start 16th on Sunday's grid once his penalty has been applied.