Austrian GP qualifying: Russell snatches pole from Leclerc as FIA comes under fire
Qualifying for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring delivered plenty of drama, with George Russell denying Charles Leclerc pole position in the closing moments of the session. ScuderiaFans.com brings you a detailed recap of everything that happened during a thrilling battle for the front of the grid.
Q1: Kimi Antonelli and Lando Norris lead the way as Williams struggles
The drivers wasted no time heading out onto the circuit, with Esteban Ocon leading the queue out of the pit lane. After the opening runs, Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets with a 1:07.083, ahead of Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton. Charles Leclerc was seventh, while George Russell sat eighth after the first flying laps.
Further down the order, Pierre Gasly and Oliver Bearman made encouraging starts by moving into ninth and tenth respectively. Meanwhile, Williams endured a difficult session, with Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon battling just to escape the elimination zone.
With five minutes remaining, the field briefly returned to the pits before heading back out for one final push to secure a place in Q2. Once the chequered flag fell, the eliminated drivers were Carlos Sainz, Alex Albon, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.
Q2: Norris shows his pace while Max Verstappen survives a scare
The second segment got underway with Lando Norris setting the early benchmark of 1:07.321 before the rest of the field joined him on track.
With six minutes remaining, Kimi Antonelli once again led the standings thanks to a 1:06.763 lap, followed by Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc. Lewis Hamilton was fourth, Max Verstappen fifth and Lando Norris seventh. Unlike several of their rivals, Norris and Verstappen had completed their laps on used tyres.
George Russell was still without a representative lap after making a mistake at Turn 3. The drivers returned to the pits before making their final attempts to secure a place in Q3, with the exception of Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen, who elected to remain in the garage.
At the end of the session, Antonelli remained fastest ahead of Piastri and Norris. Russell recovered to fourth, followed by Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc. Eliminated in Q2 were Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon and Franco Colapinto.
Max Verstappen narrowly escaped elimination, progressing to Q3 by just two hundredths of a second.
Q3: Max Verstappen’s crash turns qualifying upside down
The decisive final segment began after a brief wait in the garages, with Lando Norris leading the queue out onto the circuit. Following the opening flying laps, Kimi Antonelli, George Russell and Max Verstappen were separated by just 0.061 seconds. Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc occupied fourth and fifth respectively, while Lewis Hamilton had yet to set a lap after making an error at Turn 3.
The drivers returned to the pits before heading back out for one final attempt that would determine the official starting grid for the Austrian Grand Prix.
The closing moments of qualifying were packed with drama. Max Verstappen appeared to be on course for an outstanding lap before crashing into the barriers at the final corner. Before the accident, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton had completed their laps, moving into first and second place respectively.
Yellow flags were immediately displayed, leaving only Kimi Antonelli and George Russell still on flying laps. The Italian lifted off and remained fourth, while George Russell completed his lap to claim pole position.
Russell’s lap immediately became the subject of debate due to the yellow flags triggered by Max Verstappen’s crash, with many questioning whether the pole-winning effort complied with the regulations.
Below is the complete qualifying classification.
1 George Russell (Mercedes) 1m06.113s
2 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.236s
3 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari) +0.295s
4 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes) +0.301s
5 Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.362s
6 Lando Norris (McLaren) +0.389s
7 Oscar Piastri (McLaren) +0.398s
8 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) +0.519s
9 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls) +0.842s
10 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls) +0.894s
11 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
12 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
13 Ollie Bearman (Haas)
14 Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)
15 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
16 Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
17 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
18 Alex Albon (Williams)
19 Sergio Perez (Cadillac)
20 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
21 Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
22 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
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