F1 Qualifying Results Today: Max Verstappen crash throws results into chaos at Austrian Grand Prix

George Russell topped the timesheets on Saturday in the Styrian mountains, claiming pole position for this year's 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 crashed at Turn 9 and 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, Charles Leclerc 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.

As the Mercedes star was talking to Giancarlo Fisichella alongside both Ferrari 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.

But 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 having abandoned his lap and missing out on the front row as a result, whilst Russell and his boss Toto Wolff both maintained the Brit lifted enough under what had shown up as a single yellow flag for him.

Sky later clarified the FIA had confirmed that Russell's deleted lap was in fact the in-lap he had completed after the lap that went fastest in Q3. Bernie Collins and Anthony Davidson then both stated they felt the case had been closed having studied footage that showed that at the point Russell and Antonelli went through that sector, it was not a double-waved yellow flag.

Barring any further late drama, Russell has claimed pole and will be joined by Leclerc on the front row ahead of lights out on Sunday. Lewis Hamilton, who finished qualifying in third, will then be joined on the second row by title rival Antonelli.

F1 HEADLINES: Verstappen in 'secret McLaren talks' as Red Bull star set for exit

F1 Qualifying Results: Austrian Grand Prix 2026

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.

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Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

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