Russell takes pole, Verstappen crashes in Austria | theScore

George Russell took pole position at the Austrian Grand Prix, securing his second consecutive pole by beating Charles Leclerc amid yellow flags after Max Verstappen crashed into the barriers. Russell received a note about a potential yellow-flag infringement while passing the crash site, but the stewards determined no investigation was necessary. It was Russell’s first Mercedes pole since 2020 at Austria and marked Mercedes’ eighth straight pole of the season, preventing a Ferrari front-row lockout that would have been their first since the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. Championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, his worst result of the season, after aborting his lap due to the incident. Verstappen nearly went out in Q2, advancing by just 0.040 seconds over Pierre Gasly, and he skipped a second Q2 run to preserve tires for the final session.