George Russell snatched pole position for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix in a dramatic finish to Qualifying.
Russell topped FP3 then battled through Qualifying to snatch pole position amidst a late double yellow flag after Max Verstappen crashed at the penultimate corner on his final flying lap, but the timing has left doubt over whether he would start from the front of the field.
FP3
Cadillac’s Sergio Perez was first on track and set 1m 11.437 as the initial benchmark mediums, which he lowered by 0.493 seconds on his next flier to 1m 10.944 before other drivers ventured out, as Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg proceeded to set 1m 09.684 as a soft-tyre benchmark.
The frontrunners slowly ventured out around 18 minutes into the session and McLaren’s Lando Norris set 1m 07.832 as the initial frontrunning time to beat, until Antonelli posted 1m 07.533 in the 22nd minute to put himself quickest at the half-hour mark.
Antonelli’s Mercedes teammate, Russell found himself 0.017s off the Italian after his third flier.
Antonelli eventually looked set to top the session with his third soft-tyre flier of 1m 07.134 set with 27 minutes left, as Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton fell 0.077s shy in second.
Russell however decided to put on an used set of soft tyres in the closing minutes and snatched the quickest time by 0.034s with 1m 07.096 to emerge fastest at the checkered flag.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m 07.096 |
| 2 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | + 0.038 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 0.115 |
| 4 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.248 |
| 5 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.264 |
| 6 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.273 |
| 7 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.356 |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | + 0.816 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | + 0.935 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | + 1.013 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | + 1.097 |
| 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 1.207 |
| 13 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | + 1.215 |
| 14 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 1.298 |
| 15 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 1.433 |
| 16 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | + 1.611 |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | + 1.747 |
| 18 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 1.836 |
| 19 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 2.436 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 2.644 |
| 21 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 3.325 |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 3.471 |
Qualifying
Q1
Ocon was first out on track and laid 1m 09.083 as the initial benchmark time but his time was soon beaten as Hulkenberg, Russell, Verstappen then Norris went fastest overall, before Antonelli laid 1m 07.083 as the time to beat which ultimately went unbeaten in Q1.
Once everyone set a lap time, the bottom six comprised of; Albon, Sainz, Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll, but Albon Sainz, Perez and Bottas improved on their second fliers to move above Ocon who slipped to a provisional 20th on the grid with seven minutes left.
At the checkered flag, Ocon survived by 0.021s from Sainz who was eliminated in 17th position ahead of Albon, Perez, Bottas, Alonso and Stroll.
Q2
In a quiet start to the second segment, Norris was the sole driver to venture out early and set 1m 07.321 as the initial benchmark time on used soft tyres as he assessed his car after damage from running on a kerb in Q1.
Verstappen soon bettered the reigning champion’s time by 0.138s with 1m 07.183 but Leclerc set 1m 07.030 shortly afterwards to go fastest, as Hamilton slotted into second just 0.009s behind his Ferrari teammate.
Antonelli however emerged quickest on the first fliers with 1m 06.763 to head Piastri by 0.127s and top Q2, whilst the bottom six comprised of; Bortoleto, Colapinto, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Russell – who hadn’t set a time after an error on his lap.
As the checkered flag fell, Verstappen avoided a shock Q2 exit by just 0.040s as Gasly fell short in 11th ahead of Bortoleto, Bearman, Hulkenberg, Ocon and Colapinto.
Q3
After an early lull, Norris was the first driver to hit the track and set 1m 06.900 as the benchmark time but his time was quickly usurped by Verstappen who went 0.425s faster with 1m 06.475 just moments later.
Antonelli however found further time to set 1m 06.414 to head Russell by 0.043s with Verstappen sat third ahead of Piastri, Leclerc, Norris, Hadjar, Lawson, Lindblad and Hamilton who aborted his first Q3 flier.
Ferrari went first on the final flying laps and Hamilton snatched provisional pole by 0.006s from Antonelli, only for Leclerc to set a 1m 06.349 to snatch pole from the seven-time champion.
Verstappen just behind spun out through the penultimate corner which seemingly curtailed the session, yet Russell found time out of the final corner once he passed the scene to snatch pole ahead of Leclerc.
| Position | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | George Russell | Mercedes | 1m 06.113 |
| 2 | Charles Leclerc | Ferrari | + 0.236 |
| 3 | Lewis Hamilton | Ferrari | + 0.295 |
| 4 | Andrea Kimi Antonelli | Mercedes | + 0.301 |
| 5 | Max Verstappen | Red Bull | + 0.362 |
| 6 | Lando Norris | McLaren | + 0.389 |
| 7 | Oscar Piastri | McLaren | + 0.398 |
| 8 | Isack Hadjar | Red Bull | + 0.519 |
| 9 | Liam Lawson | Racing Bulls | + 0.842 |
| 10 | Arvid Lindblad | Racing Bulls | + 0.896 |
| 11 | Pierre Gasly | Alpine | 1m 07.223 |
| 12 | Gabriel Bortoleto | Audi | + 0.070 |
| 13 | Oliver Bearman | Haas | + 0.300 |
| 14 | Nico Hulkenberg | Audi | + 0.388 |
| 15 | Esteban Ocon | Haas | + 0.594 |
| 16 | Franco Colapinto | Alpine | + 0.948 |
| 17 | Carlos Sainz | Williams | 1m 08.252 |
| 18 | Alex Albon | Williams | + 0.257 |
| 19 | Sergio Perez | Cadillac | + 0.693 |
| 20 | Valtteri Bottas | Cadillac | + 0.778 |
| 21 | Fernando Alonso | Aston Martin | + 1.690 |
| 22 | Lance Stroll | Aston Martin | + 2.111 |