Max Verstappen says "fair play" when commenting on George Russell's Austria pole lap

Verstappen crashed ahead of Russell in Q3 of qualifying in Austria, but the latter just lifted a bit to comply with Yellow flag rules and managed to improve and take pole.

Formula 1 Championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, on the other hand, had to abort his lap as he thought double Yellows were waved.

That incident has ignited discussions on whether a single Yellow was enough in that situation, while others blasted Russell for his conduct. Carlos Sainz even suggested radical changes to qualifying rules.

Verstappen admitted in Silverstone that the topic needed discussion; he said: “It's a topic that we have been talking about for a long time. In other series, I think when you create a double Yellow or a Red, you lose your lap, for example.

“So yeah, it's things to look at for sure, but that still doesn't solve what actually happened. Besides that, people are still, of course, completing a lap or obviously backing out of it.

“Now you can read the rules really well, and you complete your lap, and you're allowed to keep it. But I think, first of all, it should not have been a single yellow. That is at least double Yellow or Red.

“That the driver then of course optimizes around it, I think that's fair play," the Dutchman added, absolving Russell of any wrongdoing. "I probably would have tried to do the same—that's just how it goes.

"But it should not even be allowed or impossible to finish your lap like that. I think that's for me the main concern in all of it," Verstappen concluded. (Reporting by Agnes Carlier)