Russell's Austrian Pole
George Russell Secures Austrian Grand Prix Pole Following Max Verstappen Crash
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George Russell claimed a controversial pole position at the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix, edging Ferrari's Charles Leclerc by 0.236 seconds with a lap of 1:06.113. The drama came after Red Bull's Max Verstappen crashed at Turn 9 in the final seconds of qualifying, triggering yellow flags that Russell drove through — at reduced speed — to set the fastest time of the session, according to BBC Sport.
Stewards reviewed the lap for nearly 45 minutes before clearing Russell of any wrongdoing. His Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli, the current championship leader, aborted his own final lap when he saw the yellow flags and will start the race from P4, Yahoo Sports reported.
Verstappen's Crash Upends the Final Lap
With 15 seconds left in Q3, Verstappen was on course for a potential pole when his RB22 snapped into oversteer at Turn 9. The car spun through the gravel and slammed into the barriers, ending his session and immediately bringing out local yellow flags. Leclerc had already crossed the line with a 1:06.349, which looked set to be pole, Messenger Newspapers reported.
Russell was approaching Turn 9 seconds later. He claimed to have lifted for roughly 100 meters before the corner. "I saw the yellow and had a big lift into the corner," Russell said. "I was five-tenths up and came out two-and-a-half tenths up. It was a single yellow, so I should be okay," according to Yahoo Sports.
Stewards Clear Russell After Telemetry Review
Under Article B1.8.4 of the 2026 Sporting Regulations, a driver passing a single yellow flag must "reduce speed and be prepared to change direction." Stewards found that Russell's lift satisfied this requirement and announced no further investigation at 17:05 UTC. His pole time stood.
Data showed Russell's Sector 3 time was only 0.027 seconds slower than his prior best, raising questions about whether that lift was truly meaningful. Analysts at Head Topics noted the razor-thin delta as a point of concern. Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur accepted the verdict but said, "We don't have access to the data of the mini-sectors... to have a clear opinion you need the data," per BBC Sport.
Mercedes Calls It Clever, Antonelli Pays the Price
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff praised Russell's instinct. He called the move "super clever," saying Russell lifted just enough to comply with the rules without ruining the lap. Wolff described Antonelli's decision to abort as a "matter of experience," according to BBC Sport. Antonelli, the championship leader, will start P4 — behind both Ferraris and Russell.
Starting from the front gives Russell a real chance to eat into Antonelli's championship lead. The two Mercedes drivers are now set for a direct battle, with Leclerc slotting in between them on the grid at P2, per Yahoo Sports.
Red Bull's Deepening Technical Crisis After Spielberg Crash
Verstappen's crash was not just bad luck. The 2026 cars use a new design called the "Nimble Car Concept" — shorter, lighter, and with a 50/50 split between combustion and electric power. These cars react much faster than before, making them harder to catch when they snap out of control. Verstappen later blamed the RB22's "lack of structural balance" for the incident.
Red Bull's problems run deeper than one crash. With engineering chief Paul Monaghan gone to Cadillac and Adrian Newey no longer at the team, the technical brain trust has scattered. Both Mercedes and Ferrari outqualified Verstappen before he even hit the wall, Head Topics reported, underlining just how far the team has fallen from its dominant years.
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