Max Verstappen, the Red Bull Racing superstar, suffered a big crash in the Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, sparking controversy over the end of the session.
Verstappen made it into Q3, the final round of qualifying, with a gutsy strategy call, giving him a shot at starting up front in Sunday’s race. However, he lost control of his car on the final lap, skidding off through the gravel and making heavy contact with the barrier.
Controversy Over Yellow Flags
The crash brought out yellow flags, which Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli thought were double-waved, causing him to abort his lap. However, his teammate George Russell noticed it was a single yellow and lifted through the yellows, still managing to put down a lap fast enough for pole.
There were complaints from drivers about Russell improving his time under yellows, but the stewards decided not to investigate, and the results held. Russell will start from pole alongside Charles Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton behind in P3 alongside Antonelli in P4. Verstappen’s first lap was fast enough that, barring any grid penalties, he will start P5.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
