F1 starting grid: Russell snatches pole amid yellow flag drama

George Russell took a dramatic pole position at the Red Bull Ring, as the F1 starting grid has him P1 ahead of the two Ferrari drivers.

After Max Verstappen’s dramatic crash into Turn 8 prompted the yellow flags, Russell finished his lap and managed to pass both Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in the times. Despite Russell having been noted for a possible yellow flag infringement, he lifted enough on his lap while under single yellows to be able to finish his attempt – and, even with that lift, it was still good enough for pole.

F1 starting grid: Russell snatches pole as Verstappen finds the barriers

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With 22 cars on track for Q1 at the Red Bull Ring – the quickest lap time of the season – traffic was always going to play its part as the drivers looked to avoid the bottom six places.

The two Williams drivers were hovering around the drop zone, along with the Aston Martin and Cadillac pairs, as well as Haas’ Esteban Ocon before the final runs.

Come the end of Q1, both Audi drivers had fallen into the bottom six before they climbed clear of trouble, with a ‘Noah’s Ark’ style two-by-two of Sainz, Albon, Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll dropping out.

Q2 saw George Russell in need of a good lap later in the session, with new soft tyres taken to get himself through to the top 10.

While all of the big four teams saw their drivers through to Q3 – well, that was not quite a guarantee, as Max Verstappen did not elect to go for an extra run by the end of Q2, seeing him fall down the standings.

With time being found all over the track, the Red Bull driver dropped to 10th and Pierre Gasly was just four hundredths behind after crossing the line.

A narrow escape, but the times were reset for the top 10 shootout at the Red Bull Ring, as the top four teams were joined by Racing Bulls in the final part of qualifying.

Verstappen set a blistering benchmark of 1:06.475 first up, the fastest time of the weekend so far, which Kimi Antonelli and George Russell both pipped on the first runs – but only six hundredths separated the top three.

Lewis Hamilton, meanwhile, ran deep at Turn 3 and aborted his first run, leaving him with only one run to get on the board.

However, his first and only run saw him usurp Antonelli’s first run by just 0.006s, but Charles Leclerc was quick to beat his teammate by just 0.059s.

With Max Verstappen piling into the barriers at Turn 8 in the final moments, however, that would soon put paid to others finishing their own runs.

Not George Russell, though. He crossed the line after Verstappen’s crash  and took pole position – with both he and Toto Wolff claiming his lift into the final two corners was enough time lost to credit his lap.

After the FIA released its documents related to deleted lap times in the aftermath of qualifying, this confirmed the Briton’s place on the grid.

More from the Austrian GP

F1 Live: How qualifying unfolded for the Austrian GP

F1 2026: Head-to-head qualifying records between teammates

F1 starting grid: 2026 Austrian Grand Prix

1 – George Russell Mercedes
2 – Charles Leclerc Ferrari
3 – Lewis Hamilton Ferrari
4 – Kimi Antonelli Mercedes
5 – Max Verstappen Red Bull
6 – Lando Norris McLaren
7 – Oscar Piastri McLaren
8 – Isack Hadjar Red Bull
9 – Liam Lawson Racing Bulls
10 – Arvid Lindblad Racing Bulls
11 – Pierre Gasly Alpine
12 – Gabriel Bortoleto Audi
13 – Ollie Bearman Haas
14 – Nico Hulkenberg Audi
15 – Esteban Ocon Haas
16 – Franco Colapinto Alpine
17 – Carlos Sainz Williams
18 – Alex Albon Williams
19 – Sergio Perez Cadillac
20 – Valtteri Bottas Cadillac
21 – Fernando Alonso Aston Martin
22 – Lance Stroll Aston Martin

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