Russell claims pole in Austria after late Verstappen crash

“FP1 was a very strong session for us both, we looked really good, and then straight out of the blocks in FP2, McLaren looked flying,” Russell said. “It was a disrupted session on my side, but their race pace, their single lap pace looks pretty decent. I think it was more everyone else had a pretty troubled [FP1] session. Every time I saw the TV screens it was drivers in the garage with problems. Lando [Norris] only got out at the end, I think Lewis had some problems, Max [Verstappen] had some problems. So, I think that probably flattered our pace a bit in FP1, but things were feeling good. It was a real surprise just seeing that first lap of the McLarens in P2, just right at the top. And their race pace, especially on Lando’s side looked a bit better than us.” Lando Norris took pole here last year and went on to win the race ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri. McLaren, who have yet to register their first win of the season, are one of a number of teams that have brought upgrades for this weekend. Piastri felt his team had a good Friday but still believes the advantage currently lies with Mercedes. “It was a pretty good day,” Piastri said. “We were a step behind Mercedes, or at least Kimi, which we expected. I think for Kimi to do that kind of time on his second lap on the soft is quite impressive, so we will have to wait and see. We cannot invent anything overnight, but there is definitely going to be areas for probably both of us to learn from each other, so we will just try to apply those bits and see where we end up.”