George Russell took pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix, but there was immediate confusion over why he was allowed to keep that lap time because he set it after Max Verstappen crashed out during his final flying lap.
Verstappen lost control at high speed while trying to push for pole himself, the rear of his Red Bull stepping out, leaving the Dutchman a mere passenger as his car slid off track, skipped through the gravel and hit the barrier.
Yellow flags were immediately waved in that mini-sector. Charles Leclerc had the fastest time at that point, with Lewis Hamilton second. The two Mercedes drivers, George Russell and Kimi Antonelli, were still on track completing their final flying laps.
Antonelli was ahead and backed out. He reported that his dash had shown double-waved yellow flags and on-board footage from his car backed that up. Russell, however, was adamant that he had seen only single-waved flags. Again, footage from his car showed he was right.
The key difference is: Double-waved yellow flags mean a lap time is automatically deleted, while laps completed under single yellows are kept.
Drivers have to back off the throttle when they see yellow flags as they serve as a warning that there is a potentially unsafe obstacle or incident ahead. Russell did so in that mini-sector, but still had the pace over the full lap to jump to the top of the timesheets and take pole position.
Russell was placed under investigation, but quickly cleared as the stewards were happy that he had lifted off enough.
There was some confusion as the FIA also said Russell had a lap deleted, but it was later clarified that it was Russell’s in-lap which had been deleted, along with that of Antonelli and several other drivers. As a result, Russell’s final flying lap stands and he takes pole position in Austria.
Leclerc is second on the grid, with Lewis Hamilton third. Ferrari would have secured a front-row lockout if Russell’s time had not stood.
