Kimi Antonelli targets Austria victory despite "a mistake from my side" may have cost him pole

The Mercedes driver had looked capable of challenging teammate George Russell for pole after topping both Friday practice sessions and setting the early benchmark in Q3. Instead, the championship leader will line up fourth after abandoning his final flying lap when Max Verstappen crashed at Turn 9.

2026 Formula 1  World Championship leader, Antonelli initially believed double yellow flags had been shown, prompting him to immediately back out of the lap. In reality, only single yellows were displayed, meaning he could have lifted briefly and continued, as Russell did before securing pole position.

The error left Antonelli frustrated after a weekend in which he had consistently looked among the quickest drivers at the Red Bull Ring.

"It was unfortunate, but realistically it was a mistake from my side because I thought I saw double yellows and instead it was a single, so I completely aborted the lap when I could have just done a lift like George did," Antonelli admitted.

The Italian accepted pole position would still have been a difficult target given Russell's pace. However, he believes a place alongside his teammate on the front row slipped away:  I think I was a tenth slower than George up to that point, so it still would have been difficult to get pole but at least front row was there."

Antonelli's qualifying result came as something of a surprise after he dominated Friday's running, finishing fastest in both practice sessions and carrying that speed into Saturday. He also held provisional pole during the opening runs of Q3 before the session reached its dramatic conclusion.

Russell ultimately secured top spot ahead of Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, while Antonelli dropped to fourth after failing to complete his final attempt.

Despite the disappointment, the 19-year-old remains confident he can fight at the front when the lights go out on Sunday. Mercedes has shown strong race pace throughout the weekend, and Antonelli believes there is still every chance to recover the positions lost in qualifying.

"Yeah, for sure," he said when asked if victory remained possible. "It would have been more ideal to start more at the front, but it is what it is and the most important is that tomorrow we try to get a good start and then maximise from there."

Starting from the second row will make Antonelli's task more difficult around the short Red Bull Ring, where track position often proves crucial. Even so, Mercedes has locked out two of the top four grid positions and heads into the race with confidence after another competitive weekend.

For Antonelli, the focus now shifts from what might have been on Saturday to recovering ground in the race. If Mercedes can translate its pace into race conditions, the championship leader still has every opportunity to leave Austria with another strong points haul.