F1 News: FIA announce late penalty verdict after Austrian Grand Prix qualifying

FIA, Austrian and F1 flags — Photo: © IMAGO

Austrian Grand Prix

FIA announce late penalty verdict after Austrian Grand Prix qualifying

F1's governing body were the talk of the paddock after qualifying in Austria

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Saturday 27 June 2026 19:24 Updated: 09:21

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F1's governing body, the FIA, have announced their decision over whether Red Bull star Isack Hadjar will be penalised following an incident during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Saturday's all-important competitive session came to a confusing end when four-time champion Max Verstappen pushed too hard and spun his Red Bull into the gravel.

The Dutchman's crash not only meant he couldn't improve upon his starting position of P5 for Sunday's 71-lap event, but it also left Mercedes, Ferrari, and the Sky Sports viewers at home lost over who had actually claimed pole.

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Charles Leclerc sat at the top of the timesheets just as Verstappen crashed out of the session in the final minute, before Mercedes star George Russell stole pole position.

Initially, many including Kimi Antonelli thought there had been a double-waved yellow flag after Verstappen's crash, causing the championship leader to abandon his flying lap and lose his chance of claiming a place on the front row for Sunday's grid.

Even after the chequered flag had been waved on Saturday, Ferrari appeared confused over whether the final result stood or if Leclerc would be handed pole position due to a potential yellow flag infringement on Russell's part.

But the FIA determined that there would be no further investigation into Russell's qualifying, with the governing body also confirming to Sky that the lap the stewards had deleted was Russell's in-lap, not the flying lap that had earned him pole.

F1 HEADLINES: Mercedes in FIA breach at Austrian GP as Verstappen gives Russell the finger

FIA announce Hadjar verdict following Austrian GP qualifying

Despite the pole position confusion being cleared up swiftly, the FIA still had Verstappen's team-mate Isack Hadjar to deal with.

After Saturday's qualifying session, Hadjar was summoned to the stewards over an alleged breach of Article B1.8.5 of the FIA F1 regulations and non-compliance with Race Director’s Competition Notes (item 1, document 6) – driving unnecessarily slowly.

Hadjar and his team representative then got to say their piece on the matter, whilst the stewards also reviewed positioning/marshalling system data, timing, and in-car video evidence.

After reviewing the incident, the FIA confirmed in a statement: "The stewards determine that the driver completed the relevant lap without overtaking or being overtaken by any other cars and therefore drove unnecessarily slowly."

However, Hadjar managed to avoid a penalty on this occasion the Red Bull star was simply handed a warning and as a result, will hang on to his P8 qualifying position.

F1 FIA Austrian Grand Prix Isack Hadjar Red Bull Ring