Russell reacts on his surprising pole position in Austria

Russell finished his lap under a yellow flag and because it was a single yellow flag rather that a double, the stewards confirmed that no further investigation was necessary. Reflecting on his lap before hearing that he would hold onto his result, Russell said, quoted by the official Formula 1 website: “I feel incredible. It was such an amazing lap. I saw the yellow, I had a big lift into the corner, I was five tenths up, and I came out the last corner two and a half tenths up.”

“It was a single yellow as well, not a double, so it should be okay. It was a tough day, but it was so special to get that lap and everything felt so sweet, so really proud of the job we all did,” he continued.

After the Briton talked with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who confirmed that he is keeping the pole position, Russell added: “I just spoke with Toto, he said everything was fine with the yellow flag so that is good news. 100 metre lift before the corner, so glad to hear that.”

Russell appeared off the pace compared to his teammate Kimi Antonelli throughout the whole session as the Italian claimed provisional pole in the opening runs of Q3. When Verstappen suffered a crash in Turn 9, Antonelli aborted his final attempt thinking that double yellow is being deployed instead of a single flags. Meanwhile Russell completed his final run that put him on pole ahead of both Ferraris leaving his teammate fourth.