George Russell was relieved to learn he would not be investigated for breaking the yellow flag in qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix, meaning the Briton retained pole position after what he described as an “amazing lap”.
Russell trailed Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli for much of the session, with the Italian also taking provisional pole for the opening sessions of Q3.
However, the picture changed when it came time for the final laps. Max Verstappen was involved in a crash at turn nine which forced him out of the race, causing Antonelli to abort his attempt after thinking double yellow flags were being waved instead of singles.
Russell, meanwhile, was completing his final run and took to the stage with yellow flags – but it was still enough for the British driver to set the fastest time of all, with a final time of 1m 06.113s, ahead of the Ferrari pair of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, while Antonelli remained fourth.
There was initially some doubt as to whether Russell would retain his result as the stewards flagged a potential yellow flag violation. However, as it was a single yellow flag and not a double flag, they soon confirmed that no further investigation was required.
Reflecting on his knees before hearing the news, Russell explained: “I feel incredible. It was such an amazing lap. I saw the yellow, I was skidded hard into the corner – I was five-tenths out and I came out of the last corner two-and-a-half tenths.”
“It was a single yellow too, not a double, so everything should be fine. It was a tough day, but it was so important to get through that lap and it all felt so good and we were so proud of the work we all did.”
After being seen talking to Mercedes boss Toto Wolff in Parc Ferme, the 28-year-old subsequently said: “I’ve just spoken to Toto and he said the yellow flag is fine so that’s good news. 100m up before the corner, so glad to hear that.”
Russell expects a tough fight with his rivals ahead of Sunday’s race.
โItโs going to be very hot,โ he admitted. Ferrari look incredibly fast – in the corners they are the fastest team at the moment. They may be a little slower than us, which may help us defend ourselves.
โIt’s going to be a big battle tomorrow โ obviously Kimi in fourth will be super fast, we know how strong he is, and also Lando (Norris) and the McLarens, so it’s all in play.โ