George Russell takes controversial pole position at F1 Austrian GP after Max Verstappen crash

George Russell claimed a controversial pole position at the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix after Max Verstappen crashed on his final lap. 

F1 championship hopeful Russell snatched pole at the very end of a dramatic Q3 with a lap that denied Charles Leclerc and Ferrari a first pole position of the season by 0.236 seconds. 

There was major confusion surrounding how Russell's lap was allowed to stand given that he improved after Verstappen went off and hit the barriers at Turn 9 in a heavy crash that led to yellow flags being waved at the final corners. 

2026 F1 Austrian Grand Prix: Full qualifying results

Russell was initially noted for a yellow flag infringement before being seemingly cleared of any wrongdoing when race control noted that the incident would not be investigated. 

As such, Russell and Mercedes started the celebrations after claiming a crucial pole at the Red Bull Ring. 

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff claimed Russell had a "massive lift" that cost him a tenth and a half in lap time, while Russell himself said he lifted for 100 metres at the final corner. 

Prior to Russell nicking pole, it appeared that Ferrari had locked out the front row of the grid, with Lewis Hamilton exchanging fastest laps at the end of qualifying. 

Seven-time world champion Hamilton ultimately had to settle with third, 0.295s away from his first Ferrari Grand Prix pole, having clinched a maiden victory in red last time out in Barcelona. 

Russell's team-mate and championship leader Andrea Kimi Antonelli was also affected by Verstappen's lap and ended up fourth on the grid after aborting the end of his final Q3 effort. 

Despite crashing, Verstappen's first lap was good enough to secure fifth on the grid at Red Bull's home race, ahead of the McLaren duo of reigning world champion Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. 

Isack Hadjar was eighth in the second Red Bull, ahead of the Racing Bulls pair of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad, who completed the top-10. 

Pierre Gasly was just 0.040s shy of causing a shock by knocking Verstappen out in Q2 and progressing to Q3 himself, but the Alpine driver ultimately had to settle with 11th, ahead of Audi’s Gabriel Bortoleto. 

Ollie Bearman took 13th for Haas, ahead of the second Audi of Nico Hulkenberg and Haas team-mate Esteban Ocon. Franco Colapinto struggled to match the pace of his Alpine team-mate and ended up only 16th. 

There was big disappointment for Williams as both Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon were knocked out in the first part of qualifying with times only good enough for 17th and 18th. 

Sergio Perez again outpaced team-mate Valtteri Bottas in qualifying as the Cadillacs, sporting the American outfit’s biggest upgrade of the season this weekend in Spielberg, took P19 and P20.

Qualifying delivered a brutal reality check for Aston Martin, with Fernando Alonso nearly a full second adrift of the nearest Cadillac in 21st, and three-tenths clear of team-mate Lance Stroll who wound up slowest of all in 22nd.

Not that Alonso seemed concerned by Aston Martin’s latest woes, reporting over team radio: "That was a good lap. Not what we want but not too far. We're getting closer."