Austrian GP: How yellow-flag drama and George Russell's sudden surge of speed created chaotic pole moment after Max Verstappen crash

George Russell’s edge in experience over his Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli showed up in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying as the Brit’s knowledge of the rules helped him to pole, while a “mistake” saw the Italian teenager miss out on the front row.

The closing stages of qualifying at the Red Bull Ring were thrown into chaos by Red Bull’s Max Verstappen crashing into the barriers at high speed during his final push lap.

The crash came with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton having already completed their laps to sit first and second, while Russell and Antonelli were behind Verstappen on track and on course to take over the front row.

Russell approached the scene of Verstappen’s Turn 9 crash and understood the single-waved yellow flags meant he needed to lift off the throttle, but also that he could continue to push once he was through the corner and complete his lap.

Such was the brilliance of the lap, even with the lift he was quicker than both Ferraris in the final sector and more than two tenths clear of second-placed Leclerc overall.

Antonelli, just a short way behind Russell on track, misunderstood the yellows to be double-waved, and therefore aborted his lap thinking he was abiding by the rules.

There was confusion for a good while afterwards, with the stewards noting Russell for a possible yellow flag infringement, but then deciding no further action was necessary.

The drama was continued as it flashed up on the timings board that a Russell lap had been deleted, but this was the in-lap that followed his pole effort, due to double-yellow flags eventually being waved.

How Russell stayed within the rules

Russell, who is in the eighth season of his F1 career, serves as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association and usually appears very clued in on the sport’s many rules.

This was evident in the way he reacted to the yellow flags he faced as he approached Verstappen’s stricken car.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the session, Russell said: “It’s really clear in the regulations, a single yellow means that there is an incident.

“A double yellow is very much, be prepared to stop and there is clear danger ahead.”

Russell did lift on his way into Turn 9, losing what he estimated to be around a tenth and a half of a second.

Having reviewed the on-board footage of Russell’s lap, Sky Sports F1’s Anthony Davidson said: “That’s a lot earlier and a lot more than a lift off than your typical lap, especially on a push lap.

“To be fair to George, he’s telling the truth, he lifted off a lot into that corner and the data will show that.”

What happened to Antonelli?

Antonelli has exceeded all expectations to build a 41-point lead at the top of the world championship, but the 19-year-old’s lack of experience may have been exposed in his reaction as he approached the scene of Verstappen’s crash.

He told Sky Sports F1: “I don’t know why, but I thought it was a double yellow, so I aborted completely and missed the front row.

“I shouldn’t have done that. That was my mistake.”

While Russell appeared to be on the better lap of the two Mercedes drivers, Antonelli was confident that he had the pace to leapfrog the two Ferraris, who he will start behind on Sunday.

“It would have been very close with George,” he added. “There was only a tenth between us. He would have been a little bit ahead, but still I would have been front row, so a shame for that.”

Why was there so much confusion?

A rare Verstappen crash was enough to scramble the senses of most F1 fans, but there were further elements that made this situation particularly confusing.

Crashes of this severity in qualifying often result in an immediate red flag, or at least instant double-waved yellows.

It was strange to see the race director only implement single-waved yellows for quite a significant period before the double-yellows came during Russell’s in lap.

Sky Sports F1’s Jamie Chadwick said: “George did nothing wrong, he responded to what he sees.

“The bit that is a potential issue is the fact a car was in the wall, there probably should have been a double waved yellow.”

The other element that made the situation hard to comprehend was Russell suddenly finding an enormous amount of improvement having struggled for much of the session.

It seemed incomprehensible that Russell, who had trailed Antonelli throughout the session, could have lifted on his lap but still been more than two tenths clear of the Ferraris.

However, as he explained afterwards, the Brit had saved his best until last.

Russell reflected: “A huge amount of lap time came from nowhere. I had a really difficult session. I was almost out in Q2.

“I went around Turn 1 on my final lap, through Turn 2 a tenth and a half up, Turn three another tenth and a half up, Turn 4, tenth and a half up. The lap was unbelievable.

“I got that single yellow in the last sector, but I did a 100-metre lift, lost a huge amount of time, and I don’t have the answer where it came from, but it felt very sweet.”

Sky Sports F1’s live Austrian GP schedule

Sunday June 28
7.35am: F3 Feature Race
9.05am: F2 Feature Race
10.50am: Porsche Supercup
12.30pm: Austrian GP build-up: Grand Prix Sunday*
2pm: THE AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX*
4pm: Austrian GP reaction: Chequered Flag
5pm: Ted’s Notebook

*Also on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1’s European season continues with the Austrian Grand Prix lights out on Sunday at 2pm, build-up from 12.30pm, live on Sky Sports F1 and Main Event. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime

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