George Russell delivers 'common sense' verdict after contentious yellow flag call

George Russell has defended the decision to only implement single-waved yellow flags when Max Verstappen crashed heavily in the dying moments of qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, sharing his relief that "common sense prevailed" during the incident.

The Dutchman was in the hunt for pole position in Q3 at the Red Bull Ring, alongside the Mercedes drivers, when his RB22 snapped at Turn 9, sending him sideways into the outside wall at speed.

Whilst Kimi Antonelli subsequently aborted his final push lap, Russell completed his to take pole position against Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, who had already crossed the line to set their times.

The Briton significantly lifted off the throttle, as required, but managed to go over two tenths faster than the Ferraris anyway, having been over half a second up on the opposition before the incident.

Antonelli, who was the next driver at the scene when Verstappen hit the barriers, erroneously believed that double-waved yellow flags had been triggered and bailed out of his effort, which cost him a shot at pole and left him consigned to fourth on the grid, just ahead of the Red Bull driver.

Russell used his experience to great effect to equal his team-mate on four pole positions for the campaign, as he looks to close his 50-point deficit to the young Italian in the F1 drivers' championship standings.

"Well, it's a corner where you can see quite a lot, and I just did a huge lift, and I was going to assess the situation as soon as I got to the corner, if the car was there," the 28-year-old told media, including RacingNews365, when explaining his thought process during those critical moments at the end of the session.

"But as it was a single yellow, I was pretty confident there was no danger. And as soon as I turned into the corner, I already saw the green up ahead, and I actually thought the car had continued, because I didn’t see the car at all.

"It was so far off the track, I didn't see the car whatsoever. It was only when I saw the replay afterwards, I saw it was well off into the wall. So yeah, I was glad common sense prevailed there."

Russell's rationale

Despite Antonelli admitting it was a mistake to back out of his lap, the 19-year-old has since called for a review of the situation, arguing that it should have been a case for double-waved yellow flags

Russell, who is a director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, sees the situation differently, however, which may not come as a surprise given the circumstances.

"As I said, I didn't even see the car because the run-off is so far," the six-time grand prix winner reiterated when asked if he was surprised the incident only garnered single yellow flags.

"And I think in that instance, a single yellow was correct because, as I said, a double yellow is immediate danger.

"Lifting a hundred metres before a corner or lifting off with a single yellow, you're never going to lose control of the car.

"Verstappen, the only reason he was in the wall that far away is because he was attacking and lost the car. So I think the single yellow was correct.

"I think I did everything right to be very much under control, and it's a very different story to a double."