F1: Russell’s Controversial Pole Position Sparks Ferrari’s Ire: “Everything’s Fine for Them…”

Ferrari showed further signs of improvement in qualifying for the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, where pole position slipped away at the very end—and in controversial fashion: Mercedes driver George Russell managed to overtake the two Maranello Ferraris under yellow flags following Max Verstappen’s crash.

Team principal Vasseur was highly critical in his comments to Sky: “It was just a single yellow flag, so you can debate whether it was the right call to put out only one yellow in that situation—they sent out a medical car. You have to reduce your speed by 5% in each sector; we don’t have access to the data. Race control deemed that no further action was necessary, and that’s how it went. Pole position under a yellow flag is a bit strange, but that’s how it went…”.

“This year, things are going the wrong way for us and the right way for Mercedes, but we’ll keep fighting, and I want to focus on tomorrow’s race—I don’t want to waste energy on controversy,” Vasseur continued.

On Ferrari’s progress: “We had a pretty tough Friday, but we did a good job both on the track and back at the factory on the simulator to make up ground. Our pace was better right from this morning, and then in qualifying we improved step by step. Now the race will be hard to predict, partly because it will be hotter: we’ll need plenty of clean air and a clear track ahead of us, and to get the tires working well, but it will be a tough battle.”