F1 News: Max Verstappen crash response 'sends terrible message', star highlights health risk

Max Verstappen

Max Verstappen crash response 'sends terrible message', F1 star highlights health risk

Jean Alesi gave a scathing assessment

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 2 July 2026 18:45

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Jean Alesi claims a pivotal qualifying decision from FIA race stewards sent 'a terrible message' about safety in F1 at last weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

Mercedes star George Russell took a stunning pole position-race victory double to haul himself back into contention for the drivers' championship.

With team-mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli only finishing the race in third, Russell was able to close the gap in the standings to just 40 points ahead of this weekend's British GP.

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But Antonelli's downfall came as early as qualifying on Saturday, when a mistake led him to abort his lap thinking a double yellow flag would be waved after Max Verstappen's late crash into the barriers.

In fact, only a single yellow flag was waved, meaning Antonelli could have continued with his lap and challenged for pole position, a situation which has angered Alesi.

Not only does Alesi believe the decision effectively decided the outcome of Sunday's race, he also claims it sends a very worrying message about safety in the sport.

Alesi slams 'disgraceful' decision

"The race was decided by a qualifying session compromised from the outset," Alesi told Corriere Della Sera.

"Not throwing a red flag with a crashed car sitting at the side of the track makes my hair stand on end. It sends a terrible message to those racing in Formula 1, and especially to the younger generation."

Alesi even referenced F1's most recent driver tragedy - the death of Jules Bianchi following an accident at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix - to ram home his point.

"This isn't about adapting to the race director's approach, it's about demanding that situations like this never happen again. It's as if the tragedy of Jules Bianchi had never happened. Disgraceful."

The FIA declined to comment on the matter when approached by GPFans.

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How Verstappen crash and controversy happened

As Verstappen crashed late in Q3, Russell lifted off significantly enough during his lap when going past the stricken Red Bull to appease FIA stewards, while still claiming the fastest lap of the session and pole position.

Some 15 seconds after Russell had passed Verstappen's car, that was when double-waved yellow flags were shown, immediately telling drivers to abort their laps.

That led to some confusion in the Sky Sports F1 commentary box, as both Antonelli and Russell's in-laps were deleted due to the incident, but both of their hot laps had counted one lap before.

Why the FIA did not throw a red flag

The FIA may have felt that Max Verstappen's car in the run-off area at T9 did not pose a serious risk of danger beyond a yellow flag, with the track clear of any car, debris or marshals.

With this in mind, another potential reason for the lack of a red flag was to avoid unfairly stopping drivers who had already passed the incident and were still on qualifying laps.

F1 Max Verstappen FIA Austrian Grand Prix