George Russell claimed pole position for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix after the stewards decided not to investigate his lap under yellow flag conditions. The Mercedes driver set a time of 1m06.113s despite passing a single yellow flag triggered by Max Verstappen's crash.
Russell lifted off in Turn 9 as instructed by the single yellow flag, losing time but keeping his lap intact. Stewards reviewed his data and confirmed compliance with regulations requiring a discernible speed reduction in the sector.
Verstappen's crash at the penultimate corner ended his qualifying session and brought out the yellows. Russell's teammate Kimi Antonelli aborted his lap under the mistaken belief it was a double yellow, dropping to fourth.
Charles Leclerc qualified second in his Ferrari with a 1m06.349s lap set before the incident. Lewis Hamilton took third, 0.059s behind his teammate.
Toto Wolff praised Russell's decision, noting the 100-metre lift-off cost him a tenth and a half. Russell now holds his second consecutive pole of 2026.
