Russell Backs Single Yellow Decision After Verstappen Crash

George Russell has defended race control's decision to deploy only a single yellow flag after Max Verstappen crashed late in qualifying for the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix.

Verstappen lost control at Turn 9 while fighting for pole position alongside the two Mercedes drivers. Russell completed his final lap to secure pole, while Kimi Antonelli aborted his effort after mistakenly believing double yellow flags had been shown.

Russell explained that he lifted off the throttle as required before entering the yellow flag zone. However, he believed the situation remained safe because only a single yellow was displayed and Verstappen's car was already well clear of the racing line.

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"Well, it's a corner where you can see quite a lot, and I just did a huge lift, and I was going to assess the situation as soon as I got to the corner, if the car was there."

"But as it was a single yellow, I was pretty confident there was no danger. And as soon as I turned into the corner, I already saw the green up ahead, and I actually thought the car had continued, because I didn't see the car at all."

Russell only realised how far Verstappen's RB22 had travelled into the barriers after watching the replay. He believes the marshals made the correct judgement by initially displaying only a single yellow flag.

"It was so far off the track, I didn't see the car whatsoever. It was only when I saw the replay afterwards, I saw it was well off into the wall. So yeah, I was glad common sense prevailed there."