Antonelli Admits Yellow Flag Error in Austria

Kimi Antonelli admitted he made a mistake by aborting his final qualifying lap for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix after mistakenly believing double yellow flags had been displayed.

The Mercedes driver held provisional pole after the opening Q3 runs. However, during his final flying lap, Max Verstappen's crash at Turn 9 triggered yellow flags, which Antonelli incorrectly interpreted as double yellows.

In reality, only a single yellow flag was being shown, meaning drivers only needed to demonstrate they had reduced speed through the affected sector. Team-mate George Russell completed his lap and secured his fourth pole position of the season, while Antonelli dropped to fourth on the grid.

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"I saw a double-yellow, so it's probably my mistake, but I aborted the lap, and that was it. I heard 'yellow yellow', but I was looking at the marshal, and probably I saw it wrong, I saw two flags instead of one and I aborted."

"It was also hard to see because the sun was in the face, and I just looked at the marshal, because the panel went yellow, but of course, you don't know if it was a single or a double yellow. So I looked at the marshal, and it was hard to see, and I thought I saw double yellows instead of one, so I just aborted completely."

Antonelli estimated his lap would still have been around one-tenth slower than Russell's, which would likely have secured a front-row start rather than pole position.

"There was a car in the wall on a fast corner, so I don't know why it didn't go double-yellow straight away, because it is a super-quick corner. If you go off at the same time, you can end up very badly, so it was a bit confusing, but it is what it is."