Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying: George Russell on pole, crashes Ferrari party, Max Verstappen crashes
F1 NewsSaturday, 27 June 2026 at 17:00
George Russell took pole for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix, but the Mercedes driver is under investigation for ignoring Yellow flags due to Max Verstappen crashing.
It was an up and down Qualifying for Russell who was fastest in the final practice but did not seem in the groove and was even at risk in Q2 by not managing a banker.
Russell managed to make it into Q3 as it seemed Kimi Antonelli had the advantage taking provisional pole as the like of Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, and Charles Leclerc had an awakening.
With the Mercedes drivers in one and two, Verstappen closed the gap to them to under a tenth as the final runs of Qualifying began.
But then Leclerc and Hamilton went first and second with Antonelli, Russell, and Verstappen completing their laps but the four-time Formula 1 Champion had one of those errors, spinning at Turn 9 and ending up in the barriers.
Ferrari started celebrating, but little did they know that Russell managed to slip in and take pole while Antonelli backed off.
In the end, Russell reaped the benefits of experience and backed off just enough to get away with it while managing to keep pole which just shows how good a lap he was on, while Antonelli paid the price of inexperience.
While Russell was noted, the stewards had their decision by the time he finished his parc ferme interviews and he could celebrate with no worries as he was clear.
In the end, the Briton posted a 1:06.113, 0.236s faster than Leclerc in second with Hamilton in third 0.295s off the pace.
Antonelli had to settle for fourth ahead of Verstappen whose banker was good enough to keep him in fifth with an extra Soft tyre set for the race since he decided not to run twice in Q2 which was a bit risky but panned out well.
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were sixth and seventh fastest after dropping out of contention in Q3 despite showing some promise earlier in the session.
Isack Hadjar was eighth fastest for Red Bull Racing as Liam Lawson continued his strong form this weekend going ninth fastest ahead of his teammate Arvid Lindblad in tenth.
What the top three said
After Qualifying, and before even the stewards gave their decision, Russell was defiant that he did nothing wrong. He said: "I feel incredible. It was an amazing lap.
"I saw the yellow, I had a big lift into the corner, went in in five tenths up and came out two and a half tenths up. It was a single yellow and should be okay.
"Everything felt sweet and I am really proud of the job we all did," Russell concluded.
Hamilton credited the team for his second position and Leclerc's third, he commented: "To have the two Ferraris second and third is fantastic and a reflection of the amazing work being done back at the factory.
"They really are continuing to push. They brought small bits here and worked hard to upgrade the car. It is really starting to pay off.
"I made a mistake in Q3 and didn't get the first lap but I am really happy," the seven-time F1 Champion concluded.
Leclerc was happy with the sudden performance improvement he showed, he said: "I’m relatively happy about today.
"Of course the last few weekends have been quite tough, so I just wanted to have a clean weekend and most of all a clean qualifying to start well fro tomorrow.
"To start second is a good place. The team have been pushing massively to bring upgrades in Barcelona and again this weekend, and that pays off.
"If I’m completely honest, I didn’t think we’d be starting on the front row until qualifying really, so it’s a good surprise that we are so far up," the Monegasque concluded.
Q1: Both Williams out
Qualifying started in scorching conditions with track temperatures hitting 53 degrees Celsius as air temperature was up to 33.
Esteban Ocon made his way first out on track with the two Cadillacs following him. Valtteri Bottas needed some help from the mechanics to do a three points turn before making his way our on track.
Russell was the first from the top teams to make his way out on track.
Ocon set the first time and went fastest with Sergio Perez and Bottas behind him but Russell soon put in his first timed lap and went fastest.
Verstappen then started his lap with Hadjar following and Norris in their wake.
Verstappen went fastest with Hadjar behind him, only for Norris to take the top spot as Piastri was fourth.
Lando Norris with the early benchmark after the initial Q1 runs! 🟣
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
It's a 1:07.259 for the McLaren driver, but we await push laps from the Mercedes duo... 👀#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/5WImgApc5l
Leclerc went sixth as Hamilton slotted in second place as Verstappen radioed complaining about "too much understeer".
But soon Antonelli came along and took the top spot from Norris while Russell went for another run and was eighth and complaining about four-wheel sliding.
Order after first runs: Antonelli - Norris - Hamilton - Verstappen - Hadjar - Piastri - Leclerc - Russell - Pierre Gasly - Oliver Bearman - Lawson - Lindblad - Franco Colapinto - Nico Hulkenberg - Ocon - Alex Albon.
Antonelli ⬆️ to P1! 😮💨
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
With seven minutes to go, here's our top five...
1. Antonelli ⏱️ 1:07.083
2. Norris ⏱️ +0.176s
3. Hamilton ⏱️ +0.207s
4. Verstappen ⏱️ +0.324s
5. Hadjar ⏱️ +0.325s#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/TEa4ayiRSw
With less than eight minutes remaining from Q1, some driver started the second runs and soon after that, the rest started theirs.
Out of the top teams, only Antonelli, Russell, Hadjar and Piastri went out again, and in the end, Antonelli's remained on top with a 1:07.083, 0.176s ahead of Norris and 0.207s clear of Hamilton in third.
The rest of the top 16: Lawson - Russell - Verstappen - Hadjar - Piastri - Leclerc - Lindblad - Colapinto - Bortoleto - Gasly - Bearman - Hulkenberg - Ocon.
Out of Q1 were led by Carlos Sainz who was 17th fastest with Albon behind him in 18th as Perez was 19th.
Then Bottas was 20th in the other Cadillac with Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll 21st and 22nd respectively.
Q2: A close one for Verstappen!
Norris kicked off Q2 and was the first to head out on track and started the first timed lap and went fastest on scrubbed tyres.
Soon the other drivers joined him on track with Verstappen going fastest and Hadjar went second fastest with Leclerc going to top from his first attempt, but on new tyres.
Leclerc ⬆️ to P1
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
Hamilton ⬆️ to P2
The Ferraris set the early benchmark times, but Antonelli and Russell are yet to set a time 👀#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/ApErpnJhJ4
Hamilton went 0.009s slower in second as Lawson was sixth with Lindblad seventh as Bearman was eighth and Ocon tenth.
Then Antonelli came through and took the top spot with Piastri going second fastest.
Russell messed up Turn 3 and aborted his lap and with six minutes remaining, he had no banker.
The fastest lap of the weekend for Kimi Antonelli so far with a 1:06.763 👏
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
Russell is now the only driver who has not yet set a time, having locked up at Turn 3 😳#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/ioigVzjROy
Order after first runs: Antonelli - Piastri - Leclerc - Hamilton - Verstappen - Hadjar - Norris - Gasly - Lawson - Lindblad.
With four minutes to go, Norris and Russell were the first to start a second run in Q2. Verstappen and Piastri didn't bother to go again.
In the end, with the dust settled, Antonelli kept the lead with a 1:06.763, 0.127s ahead of Piastri in second as Norris followed in third, 0.007s behind his teammate.
The rest of the top ten: Russell - Hamilton - Leclerc - Hadjar - Lawson - Lindblad - Verstappen.
Verstappen and Red Bull Racing endured some nervous moments before all the other drivers crossed the line and it was close as Gasly who was 11th was just 0.040s behind the Dutchman.
Bortoleto was 12th in the Audi ahead of Bearman in 13th as Hulkenberg was 14th in the other Audi.
Ocon and Colapinto were 15th and 16th respectively.
Q3: Verstappen crashes, Russell investigated!
With the green light given for the final 13 minutes of Qualifying, the teams took their time before sending their drivers out.
Norris was the first driver out on track with Antonelli and Russell the last to join the action. Verstappen and Piastri were next.
Norris started his timed lap first and went to the top, but Verstappen went even faster with Piastri going second. Hadjar was fourth.
Leclerc then went third fastest with Antonelli taking the fastest time with Russell second fastest.
Hamilton had a bad Turn 3 and had to abort his lap and wasn't allowed to go again which meant it was one or nothing for the Briton.
Antonelli sets a lap for P1! ⬆️
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
Antonelli ⏱️ 1:06.414
Russell ⏱️ +0.043
Verstappen ⏱️ +0.061
This is going to be a MEGA fight for pole! #F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/GIpRrwnzuY
With less than three minutes remaining, the final runs of the day were on with Antonelli on provisional pole but needed a monster lap to fend off Russell and Verstappen who came from nowhere within a tenth of the Mercedes pair.
Under pressure Hamilton was out first and went first with Leclerc and Norris behind him.
Hamilton went fastest provisionally as Leclerc went even faster with Norris managing sixth as Piastri take seventh.
This is the dramatic moment that ended Max Verstappen's Q3! 😱💥#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/b64MHhGQGR
— Formula 1 (@F1) June 27, 2026
But then Verstappen dropped the ball and crashed after losing the rear at Turn 9 going through the gravel and ending up in the barriers ending the runs of this behind him.
Russell managed to sneak in and take pole while Antonelli had to back off.
The final order was: Russell - Leclerc - Hamilton - Antonelli - Verstappen - Norris - Piastri - Hadjar - Lawson - Lindblad.
While Russell's lap was investigated, he was soon cleared by the stewards by the time he finished his post-qualifying interviews.
Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying Provisional Classfication
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