George Russell was the fastest on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring with a 1:06.113 and will start from pole in the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix. Kimi Antonelli, who had set the fastest lap of the first Q3 run with a 1:06.414, ended up fourth on the grid because Max Verstappen's crash at Turn 9 triggered double yellow flags just as the Italian was approaching that sector, and the regulations left him no choice but to abort his lap. Charles Leclerc (1:06.349) and Lewis Hamilton (1:06.408) completed the second and third positions for Ferrari, having passed that point of the circuit before Verstappen lost control.

Photo By Mercedes F1

Saturday's result was consistent with what the three practice sessions had shown. Mercedes was the fastest team all weekend: Antonelli first in FP1 and FP2, Russell first in FP3. Red Bull, on the other hand, gradually lost ground. Verstappen finished fourth in FP1, fourth in FP2 and sixth in FP3 on a circuit that in previous seasons had favoured him and that in 2026 is not giving him the same margin in the high‑speed corners. In Q2, Red Bull decided not to send the Dutchman out for a second fast lap, trusting that his 1:07.183 would be enough to advance. It was, but Verstappen progressively dropped from seventh to tenth in the time it took others to improve, and he could not do anything when Pierre Gasly, with a lap threatening in the middle sector, ended up four hundredths short of the cut.

The difference between the two Mercedes in the final seconds of Q3 was down to regulations, not individual decisions. Russell, directly behind Verstappen on track when the Red Bull hit the barriers, faced single yellow flags in that sector, which require lifting but do not force the lap to be abandoned. He said he lifted on the entry to that corner and lost time. Even so, he improved on his first run and ended up nearly four tenths ahead of Leclerc. Antonelli reached that same part of the track with double yellow flags already active, a scenario in which the regulations leave no room: the lap must be aborted. The stewards reviewed Russell's situation and did not open a formal investigation.

Ferrari improved in qualifying

For Ferrari, Saturday in Austria delivered more than the practice sessions had suggested. In FP2, Hamilton was fifth and Leclerc eighth; in FP3, Hamilton moved up to third but Leclerc finished seventh. The qualifying session put them in second and third positions, above the pace they had recorded in the previous sessions. McLaren did not find that improvement: Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri were sixth and seventh in Q3 with 1:06.502 and 1:06.511, whereas in FP2 Piastri had finished second and Norris third. Hadjar was eighth for Red Bull, and the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad closed out the top 10.

Photo By Ferrari

Williams fails to reach Q2 for the first time this season

Carlos Sainz and Alexander Albon were eliminated in Q1 in 17th and 18th. Sainz had a slide on the final corner of his last lap that cost him a place in Q2 by hundredths of a second, marking the first double Q1 elimination for Williams in 2026. Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas were 19th and 20th for Cadillac, and Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll occupied the last row for Aston Martin for the third consecutive qualifying session.

Russell starts from pole for the fourth time in 2026 in a Grand Prix where Ferrari can set the pace from the start with Leclerc and Hamilton in the front positions. Antonelli, with a 25‑point lead at the top of the championship, will start fourth. It is the first time this season that he will not start from the front row.

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	driver	team	Q1	Q2	Q3
1	63	George Russell	Mercedes	1:07.398	1:06.979	1:06.113
2	16	Charles Leclerc	Ferrari	1:07.543	1:07.030	1:06.349
3	44	Lewis Hamilton	Ferrari	1:07.290	1:06.994	1:06.408
4	12	Kimi Antonelli	Mercedes	1:07.083	1:06.763	1:06.414
5	3	Max Verstappen	Red Bull Racing	1:07.407	1:07.183	1:06.475
6	1	Lando Norris	McLaren	1:07.259	1:06.897	1:06.502
7	81	Oscar Piastri	McLaren	1:07.487	1:06.890	1:06.511
8	6	Isack Hadjar	Red Bull Racing	1:07.408	1:07.086	1:06.632
9	30	Liam Lawson	Racing Bulls	1:07.385	1:07.136	1:06.955
10	41	Arvid Lindblad	Racing Bulls	1:07.549	1:07.155	1:07.007
11	10	Pierre Gasly	Alpine	1:08.038	1:07.223
12	5	Gabriel Bortoleto	Audi	1:08.035	1:07.293
13	87	Oliver Bearman	Haas F1 Team	1:08.061	1:07.523
14	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Audi	1:08.066	1:07.611
15	31	Esteban Ocon	Haas F1 Team	1:08.231	1:07.817
16	43	Franco Colapinto	Alpine	1:07.894	1:08.171
17	55	Carlos Sainz	Williams	1:08.252
18	23	Alexander Albon	Williams	1:08.509
19	11	Sergio Perez	Cadillac	1:08.945
20	77	Valtteri Bottas	Cadillac	1:09.030
21	14	Fernando Alonso	Aston Martin	1:09.942
22	18	Lance Stroll	Aston Martin	1:10.363