Quick thinking, experience and a "magic lap" came together to produce an unexpected pole position for George Russell at the Austrian Grand Prix.
Many questions were raised by the events that immediately followed Max Verstappen's crash at Turn Nine on his final lap at the end of qualifying - but Russell's response to it was not one of them.
The Briton, who needs a bit of luck after a troubled season so far, reacted correctly to the yellow flag zone and he leapfrogged the two Ferraris onto pole, when his team-mate Kimi Antonelli slowed down too much, and the time he set on his first lap was good enough only for fourth.
Russell's judgement, to lift off just enough to satisfy the rules, but not so much that it wrecked his lap, was the difference between taking a much-needed pole and being fourth on the grid.
The wider questions will continue, though. Why was only a single yellow waved initially when Verstappen spun across the gravel trap and hit the wall at the fastest corner on the track, taken at nearly 140mph?
Many questions were raised by the events that immediately followed Max Verstappen's crash at Turn Nine on his final lap at the end of qualifying - but Russell's response to it was not one of them.
The Briton, who needs a bit of luck after a troubled season so far, reacted correctly to the yellow flag zone and he leapfrogged the two Ferraris onto pole, when his team-mate Kimi Antonelli slowed down too much, and the time he set on his first lap was good enough only for fourth.
Russell's judgement, to lift off just enough to satisfy the rules, but not so much that it wrecked his lap, was the difference between taking a much-needed pole and being fourth on the grid.
The wider questions will continue, though. Why was only a single yellow waved initially when Verstappen spun across the gravel trap and hit the wall at the fastest corner on the track, taken at nearly 140mph?
4 months ago
