Red Bull chief Laurent Mekies has apologised to Max Verstappen after the Dutchman crashed during qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix. The incident occurred at turn nine in the closing stages of Q3, bringing out yellow flags and ending Verstappen's session. Mekies confirmed Verstappen is in good health, stating: 'The most important thing after this eventful qualifying session is that Max is okay.'
Verstappen Crash and Team Responsibility
Verstappen lost control of his car during his final Q3 run, sliding through the gravel and striking the barrier. He stepped out of the car without assistance. Mekies explained the dynamic of the crash: 'He delivered an excellent first run in Q3, and his final run was very fast until he lost the car in turn 9. The dynamic of the incident was quite unusual, and we lost aero performance on the rear of the car, and it gave Max no chance to survive. As a team, we take full responsibility for it and apologise to him.'
Despite the crash, Verstappen secured fifth on the grid. Mekies also addressed the decision to keep Verstappen in the garage for part of Q2, where he narrowly avoided elimination by placing 10th, just 0.040 seconds ahead of Pierre Gasly. 'Not sending Max out for a second run in Q2 was certainly a close call,' Mekies said. 'But we knew we had to take some risks after deciding to approach qualifying with only three new sets of softs to give ourselves more strategic options for the race.'
Charles Leclerc Replaced in FP1
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc was stood down for the first free practice session (FP1) as Dino Beganovic took his place. Beganovic, a member of Ferrari's driver academy since 2020, had previously substituted for Lewis Hamilton in Barcelona two weeks earlier. Despite missing an hour of track time, Leclerc qualified second alongside George Russell on the front row. Team principal Frederic Vasseur expressed optimism: 'We arrive in Austria encouraged by our positive showing over the past few races. We are fully aware that there is still a lot of work to do and that we must continue to focus on ourselves.'
George Russell's Controversial Pole Position
George Russell will start the Austrian Grand Prix from pole position after a contentious qualifying session. Following Verstappen's crash, yellow flags were displayed at turn nine, prompting Kimi Antonelli to ease off. Russell, however, insisted he saw only a single yellow flag and maintained his speed. A double yellow flag would have automatically deleted his lap time, but a single yellow allows the lap to stand. The FIA initially stated Russell's lap had been deleted but later confirmed it was his in-lap that was scrapped, leaving his final flying lap valid.
Russell defended his lap: 'I saw the yellow, I had a big lift into the corner, went in five-tenths up and came out two-and-a-half-tenths up. It was a single yellow and should be okay.' Antonelli took responsibility for his own caution: 'I don't know why, but I thought it was a double yellow, so I aborted completely and missed the front row. That was my mistake.'
Lewis Hamilton starts third alongside Kimi Antonelli, while Verstappen lines up fifth. The Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring is one of the shortest circuits on the F1 calendar, promising an action-packed race.
