Wolff praises Russell for using ‘all his experience’ to claim Austria pole amid yellow flags

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff heaped praise on George Russell following Saturday’s Qualifying session for the Austrian Grand Prix, describing his final Q3 effort as “incredible” and one that came from him using “all his experience” in F1.

Russell trailed team mate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli after the first Q3 runs, but the pole shootout was turned on its head across the second sequence of laps when Red Bull’s Max Verstappen crashed heavily and brought out the yellow flags.

While Antonelli backed out of his lap and failed to improve, Russell carried on (lifting through the Red Bull Ring’s Turn 9 where Verstappen had crashed) and ultimately secured pole position – his second in a row after Barcelona.

Asked to reflect on Russell’s performance during F1 TV’s post-Qualifying show, and whether he had any doubts about the lap standing, Wolff said: “Yeah, of course I was in doubt, because what I saw is a yellow. I saw Kimi aborting, and that was pretty much the session done, and I was super angry about it.

“Then, George on pole. This is all his experience. His lap was incredible. He lifted at the right time, the necessary amount, and that’s the pole position.”

As for Antonelli, and a chance at pole being missed, Wolff said: “He will be super frustrated, because he was the dominant driver throughout the weekend. Then, at the end, he missed out on that with the yellow. Having said that, I think George’s lap was quicker until then anyway.”

Russell and Antonelli will be separated on Sunday’s grid by Ferrari drivers Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton, with Wolff also sharing his views about what looks set to be another long, hot Grand Prix.

“I’m never confident,” he said, when asked about Mercedes’ race pace. “They’ve [Ferrari] been really good in the heat, so you need to absolutely count on them tomorrow.

“I think it’s probably Kimi [who’s] the quickest in the long run, so we’re going to see how we can get him back to the front.”

Antonelli heads into the race at the top of the Drivers’ Championship on 156 points, 41 clear of Hamilton and 50 ahead of Russell, while Mercedes hold 262 points to Ferrari’s 190 in the Teams’ Championship.