George Russell Claims Ferrari Illegitimately Secured Pole by Ignoring Yellow Flag After Max Verstappen’s Crash

George Russell has just clinched the most embarrassing pole position of his career. That’s the only way to describe what happened in Austria, where Russell powered through the corner where Max Verstappen had just crashed, ignoring the yellow flags, and the FIA looked the other way, stealing pole from Ferrari.

For Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz, life goes on as usual. The Aston Martin remains the worst car in Formula 1 by a huge margin, while Williams is only better than Cadillac and the Aston Martin itself. So the two Spaniards were eliminated at the very start.

Antonelli aborted his lap, but the FIA looked the other way to hand Russell the pole

With no spectacle on the track, controversy is enough. That seems to be the FIA’s mindset, which embarrassingly gifted Russell with pole in Austria when in reality he should have been penalized and sent to the back for deliberately ignoring a yellow flag. Russell then tried to pretend to the crowd that he had lifted off.

Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had the two best times when Verstappen crashed while trying to improve in the final section of the circuit. Upon seeing the yellow flag, Kimi Antonelli aborted his lap as expected, but Russell came from behind at full speed, did not lift, and posted a 1:06.113 that gave him pole.

The incredible thing is that the FIA decided to look the other way, so Russell remains on pole ahead of Leclerc and Hamilton, with Antonelli fourth and Verstappen fifth. The lesson to learn would be that you can go flat out with a yellow flag if it weren’t for the fact that we already know the FIA applies different regulations depending on the nationality of the offender.

The McLarens, which had seemed a serious alternative all weekend, ended up powerless in sixth and seventh, with Oscar Piastri ahead of Lando Norris. In eighth place sits the other Red Bull, Isack Hadjar, proving once again that these eight cars operate in another league.

For the Spaniards, more of the same. Fernando Alonso once again beat Lance Stroll but the AMR26 is the worst car on the grid by a wide margin, so they occupy the last two positions. Alonso finished almost nine tenths behind the worst Cadillac. Meanwhile, Carlos Sainz also failed to advance in Q1.

Sainz was close to making the cut, but once again his Williams didn’t deliver. Also his teammate, Alexander Albon, fell in Q1. The drivers who made it to Q3 were the Racing Bulls, with Liam Lawson in ninth and Arvid Lindblad in tenth in a historically embarrassing qualifying session.

Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix 2026 race results

Images | McLaren, Mercedes