JUNE 29, 2026

Russell wins as rivals joke about FIA yellow flags

George Russell's Austrian GP victory did not end the paddock debate about the controversial yellow flag call that secured his pole position.

The Mercedes driver kept pole after lifting by just a tenth of a second for single waved yellows in qualifying following Max Verstappen's Q3 crash, even though some rivals questioned why double yellows were not shown for an incident serious enough to later involve the medical car.

Verstappen, who finished a strong second after Red Bull's major upgrade package finally delivered a step forward, joked about the issue when told by his engineer to obey the yellow flag as he drove past a stopped car.

That means flat out, right, past the car? he asked. I'm joking.

Fernando Alonso also made a pointed reference to the episode after being investigated for an alleged blue flag infringement.

I don't know, maybe they'll give me a three-minute penalty, he said.

We saw it yesterday with the yellow flag...

Russell, however, completed the job on Sunday with a victory he admitted was important after a difficult run of races and growing pressure from teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.

Yeah, absolutely, he said when asked if the win was a psychological boost.

The tough races definitely test you psychologically, and these last two weekends for me have been vitally important to remind myself I can do it.

Russell's win reduced Antonelli's championship lead over him to 40 points.

Verstappen's second place, meanwhile, was also significant after weeks of speculation about his future and questions about whether Red Bull's biggest update of the season would finally work.

It's a bit more grip, Verstappen said of the upgrade.

Just goes a bit faster around the corner.

However, the quadruple world champion remains 98 points from the lead and warned Red Bull is not yet a complete title package.

"I think we still have too many issues, if that's from the start to just procedural issues in the background, that even I think you guys don't know about, but I know about.

"I think we just need to be a little bit more all-round still. It's not a big criticism or whatever.

I think everyone is aware but we always want to be better, we chase to be the best.

(GMM)