SPIELBERG, Austria, June 27 (Reuters) – Briton George Russell put Mercedes on pole position again as Saturday’s qualifying for Formula One’s Austrian Grand Prix came to a chaotic close, with Max Verstappen crashing out during his final flying lap.
Russell’s late dash for pole paid off as he left Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc behind by 0.236 seconds. Leclerc’s teammate Lewis Hamilton, who won the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix two weeks ago, was the third fastest.
Russell came under investigation for a potential double-yellow flag violation after Verstappen’s crash but the investigation was later called off.
“I saw the yellow, I had a big lift into the corner… it was a single yellow and should be okay,” said Russell, who continued Mercedes’s streak of securing pole position for the eighth race in a row.
Championship leader Kimi Antonelli took fourth place on Sunday’s grid after aborting his final lap following Verstappen’s crash.
“I don’t know why but I thought it was a double yellow, so I aborted completely… I shouldn’t have done that. That was my mistake,” the 19-year-old Italian, who has won five of the seven races so far, told Sky Sports.
Four-time champion Verstappen was almost eliminated from the second qualifying session, as 11th-placed Pierre Gasly finished just 0.460 behind him.
But the Red Bull driver’s final run in the last qualifying session ended when he slid across the gravel and hit the wall at turn nine. He emerged from his car apparently unharmed.
“It’s a shame as realistically we could have been (third),” Verstappen told Sky Sports.
“There are still some things we want to understand from the package, some that worked well and some not so well, and work from there.”
Verstappen, who is seventh in the championship, took fifth place on the grid thanks to an earlier lap time.
Antonelli sits 41 points ahead of Hamilton in the standings going into Sunday’s race.
Seven-time champion Hamilton said: “To have the two Ferraris in second and third is fantastic and a reflection of the amazing work back at the factory… I’m just really proud of everybody.”
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha; Editing by Clare Fallon)
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