George Russell takes Austrian GP pole after Verstappen crash

sportsJun 27, 202644597

George Russell set a 1:06.113 to claim pole position at the Red Bull Ring after Max Verstappen crashed in the final seconds of qualifying. The provisional grid places Russell on pole ahead of Charles Leclerc in P2 and Lewis Hamilton in P3, with Verstappen down the order and expected to start P5. Stewards reviewed Russell’s lap amid yellow-flag activity at turn nine; several drivers had laps deleted for double waved yellows but officials said Russell had lifted and no further action was taken, so his time stood. Red Bull prepared a spare chassis for Verstappen following the crash. The front three for tomorrow’s race will be Russell, Leclerc and Hamilton, with the stewards’ decisions determining which laps were removed from the classification.

Formula 1

@f1tv.bsky.social

GEORGE RUSSELL IS ON POLE IN AUSTRIA!! 🥇👏 #F1 #AustrianGP

1154h ago

Thomas Labarre17

He kept full speed with a visible wavering yellow we ALL saw. Shame.

Billie Lauren Hindle 🎙️ | 🩷BWT Alpine💙14

Ferrari should appeal. FIA have just full let him send it through yellows.

larkroe.bsky.social12

I didn’t know yellow flags were optional.

Gert-Jan 12

FIA doesn’t concern itself with safety of a crashed driver? Why not instant double yellows or even red?

Dirk Steins11

Shame! He didn’t lift, lap should be cancelled!

markasteele.bsky.social10

Gee, it can take the stewards forever to decide minor offenses and this is binned in 5 minutes? Antonelli is rightfully livid. George never seems to win any new fans.

Quoting this

Douglas Reyes-Ceron22

ok I just finished watching qualifying and this is bullshit lol

Mari¹⁰🇧🇷10

Leclerc é azarado até nisso, era pra ele ter conquistado a pole position mas a FIA aliviou pro Russell. É triste a vida do ferrarista! 🫠 #F1 #AustrianGP

Brooke4

Utter woke nonsense FIA = FUN ISNT ALLOWED

all4n2

fdp, pau no cu, arrombado 🖕

anotherhuman.bsky.social2

Controversy aside... You see Woody, right? #f1

Maaike2

If he keeps it , this will be the equivalent of Argentina getting a ride by Fifa. He didn't lift one bit. Double yellow. The arrogance of Russel gets on my nerves. Fake ass dude 🤢

Bill Barnwell

@billbarnwell.com

Love that the primary storyline for this F1 season is just "What if we drove George Russell insane?"

1034h ago

Mrs. Betty Bowers

@msbettybowers.bsky.social

Spare chassis coming out at Red Bull after Verstappen’s crash #F1 #AustrianGP Live 🚨 : fc-lc.com/BMxsxs

443h ago

Chris Medland

@chrismedlandf1.bsky.social

The reason Russell’s lap wasn’t deleted is because the single yellow was only upgraded to a double yellow after 15 seconds. He lifted fully on approach (and around 100m earlier) and applied throttle later on exit, so stewards deemed it a significant reaction #F1 #AustrianGP

493h ago

Chris Medland30

The 15s delay was a question I had, but am told race control was debating if it could stay single yellow due to the size of the run-off area in order to allow others to complete laps, but opted for double yellow (that sees lap times deleted) for safety #F1 #AustrianGP

romaa13.bsky.social1

It was being discussed on the amount he lifted as there really isn’t an amount to lift just as long as he does. I don’t get that. When to go to double yellow & when not is frustrating. Stewards seem to make some weird decisions during and after.

Quoting this

Douglas Reyes-Ceron3

Max crashed on the final lap in Q3 with 0:00 left on the clock, Yellow flags came out, Kimi lifted when he was on a flyer, George kept going despite the flags out and took pole over Sharl and Lewis a technicality with flags kicked in bsky.app/profile/chri...

Rory Mitchell

@rorymitchellf1.bsky.social

FIA confirms it was an in-lap for Russell which was deleted. So he keeps pole. Even with losing a tenth for the lift, he's 0.236s clear of Leclerc. Snatched from Antonelli with two Ferrari's in between them on the grid. #F1 #AustrianGP

174h ago

Quoting this

leslie🍓🏁10

does this not sound insane to you? there’s no way he lost just that from lifting holy shit

Sir Lewis Updates

@lh44updates.bsky.social

Lewis will start the Austrian GP in P3 #AustrianGP #F1

304h ago

Hazel Southwell

@hazelsouthwell.bsky.social

I can't believe we've been denied Rachel Brookes interviewing George Russell about this 😭

234h ago

Zdravko

@zdravkost.bsky.social

Stewards: “George Russell is under investigation for…” Toto Wolff: opens passport, points aggressively 🇬🇧 Stewards: “Sorry for the inconvenience, Mr. Wolff. NO FURTHER INVESTIGATION.” #F1 #AustrianGP

122h ago

I like the Shipping Forecast1

Come on man. I think Russell should be stripped of the lap, I think the FIA should be enforcing proper slowdowns for yellows, but don’t start with this British bias nonsense.

Red Bull Racing F1

@redbullracingf1.bsky.social

A gutting end to a thrilling fight for pole 😣 Max is safely out of the car, we'll fight from P5 and P8 tomorrow in Austria 🏁 Result | RUS, LEC, HAM, ANT, Max P5, NOR, PIA, Isack P8, LAW, LIN. #F1 || #AustrianGP 🇦🇹

112h ago

Andrew Benson

@andrewbensonf1.bsky.social

Austrian Grand Prix: George Russell grabs pole from Charles Leclerc after Max Verstappen crash - BBC Sport www.bbc.co.uk/sport/formul...

143h ago

Some Loser

@someloser.bsky.social

Okay, so Russell set a purple loop exiting that turn sequence, so clearly lifting before entry didn't actually slow him down at all. Fuck off, FIA. This is not acceptable. #F1 #AustrianGP

93h ago

Daniel Moxon

@danielmoxon.bsky.social

The stewards say no further investigation into George Russell's actions, because he lifted off, but the FIA also says a Russell time has been deleted for double-waved yellows. No-one quite sure what's going on at the moment...

104h ago

PlanetF1

@planetf1com.bsky.social

And pole position goes to... Either George Russell or Charles Leclerc! Russell set a time good enough for pole, but has been noted for a possible yellow flag infringement, which could delete his lap. We'll find out soon enough...

74h ago

Kym Illman

@kymillmanf1.bsky.social

THE FRONT THREE Tomorrow's front three will be made up of George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton. That's a wealth of experience at the front of the grid as we head into race day. #f1news #f1content #austriangp

104h ago

Keith Collantine

@keithcollantine.bsky.social

Hadjar, Hamilton, Lawson, Leclerc, Norris, Piastri, Lindblad, Antonelli and Russell have all had lap times deleted for double waved yellows at turn nine. No indication which lap times have been deleted - it appears to be their laps as they returned to the pits. #F1 #AustrianGP #RaceFans

54h ago

2 sources

express.co.ukAustrian GP qualifying result as Verstappen crash could cost Russell pole racefans.net2026 Austrian Grand Prix grid

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George Russell takes Austrian GP pole after Verstappen crash

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