Mercedes driver George Russell claimed pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix with the final lap of qualifying, controversially snatching the top spot from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. The session was dramatically interrupted by a crash involving championship leader Max Verstappen.
Verstappen lost control of his car going into a high-speed right-hander, spinning into the gravel and hitting the barrier. This incident occurred as several drivers, including the Mercedes pair and potentially others, were beginning their final flying laps. The yellow flags deployed due to Verstappen's crash led some drivers to slow down significantly.
Antonelli, who was running directly behind Verstappen, stated he believed it was a double yellow and aborted his lap, missing a front-row start. He admitted it was his mistake and that he would have been close to George Russell, potentially securing a front-row position. Ferrari and McLaren drivers had completed their laps earlier in the session and were not directly affected by the yellow flags at the crucial moment.
Before Russell's late surge, the crash had seemingly secured a front-row position for Ferrari. Leclerc had put in a lap 0.059 seconds faster than his teammate Lewis Hamilton, who had struggled with a mistake on his first Q3 run, locking a brake. Hamilton's final lap was impacted by the risk-reward balance after his earlier issue.
Verstappen's initial lap, which was third fastest behind Antonelli and Russell at the time, was ultimately good enough for fifth place on the grid. McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri improved their times on their final runs, finishing just behind Verstappen. Other drivers like Red Bull's Isack Hadjar and the Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad rounded out the top 10.