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Why George Russell escaped investigation for yellow flag Austria GP pole lap
Motorsport.com • • general
Key Points:
- George Russell will not face investigation by FIA stewards for his pole lap at the Austrian Grand Prix despite setting it under local yellow flags caused by Max Verstappen's crash.
- Race stewards reviewed Russell's data and concluded he sufficiently lifted off in Turn 9, complying with regulations requiring drivers to reduce speed under single yellow flags.
- Verstappen crashed in the final qualifying moments, causing the local yellow flag that Russell encountered; however, Russell's lap time stood as he lost about 0.15 seconds by lifting early.
- Mercedes chief Toto Wolff praised Russell's lap and clarified that teammate Kimi Antonelli aborted his lap due to mistakenly treating the single yellow as a double yellow flag.
- Russell's 1:06.113 lap secured his second consecutive pole position, putting him ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton by over two tenths of a second.
