George Russell appeared to top the timesheets on Saturday in the Styrian mountains, claiming pole position for this year’sĀ Austrian Grand Prix, but a devastating end to qualifying for Max Verstappen caused major confusion for Mercedes and Ferrari.
In the past, Verstappen has secured four consecutive poles at the Red Bull Ring between 2021 and 2024, but the team’s star driver wasn’t able to claim the coveted spot on Saturday.
After scraping through to Q3 by the skin of his teeth, Verstappen pushed too hard at Turn 9 andĀ sent his RB22 straight into the gravel in front of Red Bull management and their home fans.
With Verstappen having just crashed on his final flying lap,Ā Charles LeclercĀ was showing as the man at the top of the timesheets, but Russell stole pole before being put under investigation for a yellow flag infringement.
But just as the BritishĀ MercedesĀ star was talking to Giancarlo Fisichella alongside bothĀ FerrariĀ drivers after the session, the FIA confirmed there would be no further investigation, handing Russell pole and continuing the trend of a Mercedes driver clinching the top spot for every grand prix so far this season.
However, even further confusion spread after Sky Sports reported Russell’s lap had been deleted, throwing his pole position into question and raising the issue over whether it was a double or single-waved yellow.
Kimi Antonelli was clearly under the impression it was a double-waved yellow, whilst Russell and his boss Toto Wolff both maintained the Brit lifted enough under what they felt was a single yellow flag.
As things stand, Russell has claimed pole and will be joined by Leclerc on the front row ahead of lights out on Sunday. The second row will then be made up ofĀ Lewis HamiltonĀ who finished qualifying in third, and the Ferrari star will be joined by title rival Antonelli.
Below are the provisional results for qualifying as they stand but check back here for official confirmation as we get it from the FIA.
Provisional F1 Qualifying Results: Austrian Grand Prix 2026
1.Ā George RussellĀ [Mercedes]
2. Charles Leclerc [Ferrari]
3. Lewis Hamilton [Ferrari]
4. Kimi Antonelli [Mercedes]
5.Ā Max VerstappenĀ [Red Bull]
6.Ā Lando NorrisĀ [McLaren]
7. Oscar Piastri [McLaren]
8. Isack Hadjar [Red Bull]
9. Liam Lawson [Racing Bulls]
10. Arvid Lindblad [Racing Bulls]
ELIMINATED IN Q2
11.Ā Pierre GaslyĀ [Alpine]
12. Gabriel Bortoleto [Audi]
13. Oliver Bearman [Haas]
14. Nico Hulkenberg [Audi]
15.Ā Esteban OconĀ [Haas]
16. Franco Colapinto [Alpine]
ELIMINATED IN Q1
17.Ā Carlos SainzĀ [Williams]
18. Alex Albon [Williams]
19.Ā Sergio PerezĀ [Cadillac]
20.Ā Valtteri BottasĀ [Cadillac]
21.Ā Fernando AlonsoĀ [Aston Martin]
22.Ā Lance StrollĀ [Aston Martin]
Changes to F1 Qualifying in 2026
There are a couple of changes to the way qualifying works this year, not quite as sweeping as the new technical regulations.
Firstly we now have 22 cars on the grid, so instead of five cars exiting after Q1 and Q2, we will have six being eliminated. That still leaves 10 for the pole shootout in Q3.
The other notable change is in the timings – Q3 now gets an extra minute and lasts for 13 rather than 12.
