George Russell survives major confusion for Austria pole after huge Max Verstappen crash

George Russell claimed Austrian Grand Prix pole position in unusual circumstances after Max Verstappen crashed out in Q3.

Verstappen spun off at Turn 9 on his final push lap to bring out the double-waved yellow flags, but Russell improved on his time to post a 1:06.113, lifting through the area affected.

Kimi Antonelli aborted his lap to place in fourth, with Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton in second and third for Ferrari. 

Verstappen placed fifth in the end, with Lando Norris in sixth and Oscar Piastri in seventh. 

Russell has been noted for a yellow flag infringement for the incident, at the time of writing. 

Q3

In Q3, Antonelli initially held the provisional pole with a 1:06.414s, with Hamilton then leaping to P1 on his only timed effort after aborting his first lap due to a mistake at Turn 3.

Leclerc then pipped Hamilton to P1, before Verstappen spun off and smashed into the barriers to bring out the double-waved yellows. 

Antonelli aborted the lap, whilst Russell continued and lifted through the affected area and after a brief investigation, kept his pole - the 256th for Mercedes-Benz power in F1, equalling Ferrari for the all-time record.

Verstappen survives by the skin of his teeth

Verstappen only completed a single run in Q2, with a time of 1:07.183. 

He slipped down to the bubble in P10 after Lawson and Lindblad improved, with Pierre Gasly the last driver who could deny the Dutchman.

Gasly fell 0.040s short of dumping Verstappen out as he took 11th on the grid. 

He was joined in the elimination zone by Gabriel Bortoleto, Oliver Bearman, Nico Hulkenberg, Esteban Ocon, and Franco Colapinto.

Up front, the segment was topped by Antonelli on a 1:06.763, 0.127s clear of Piastri in second as Norris, Russell, and Hamilton also dipped under the 67s mark. 

Williams fall in Q1

In Q1, the two Williams joined the two Cadillacs and Aston Martins in being eliminated.

Carlos Sainz was the closest to making it through, but was 0.021s slower than Esteban Ocon in 16th who made it through to Q2 for the first time in four races.

Alex Albon was 18th, as Sergio Perez notched up another 'win' against Valtteri Bottas at Cadillac by less than a tenth. 

The 11th row will be an all-Aston Martin affair, with Fernando Alonso 21st ahead of Lance Stroll - the Canadian the only driver not to lap in under 70s, his best effort being a 1:10.363.

Up front, Antonelli topped the segment from Norris and Hamilton, who all completed only one run, with Russell fifth after three flying laps.