Max after getting P5 following crash in Austria qualifying: 'It's a shame'

Published on 27 June 2026 by Florence Cobben

Max Verstappen has qualified in fifth place for the Austrian Grand Prix. In an exceptionally close qualifying session, the Oracle Red Bull Racing driver was firmly in contention for pole position. However, on his final flying lap, the Dutchman lost control of his RB22 as he turned into turn 9, resulting in a heavy crash. Max stepped out of the car unharmed, and had to content himself with fifth place on tomorrow’s starting grid. George Russell took pole position for Mercedes. Charles Leclerc was close behind in P2, with his Ferrari-teammate Lewis Hamilton in P3. 

After qualifying, Max commented on the heart-stopping moment when he lost control of the car: “On that same lap in turn 6 on the entry, I had a big moment. That was a bit weird because all weekend I haven’t had something like that. When I arrived to turn 9 and I turned in, the car was immediately gone, it was immediately full lock off. So that’s a bit odd. It’s a shame. I think realistically we could have ended up on P3.”

Red Bull Racing also came with an upgrade package to the Spielberg circuit. On whether the upgrade packet is pushing the car in the right direction: “We will have to see. On this track the laps are very short, so naturally a lot of people were close. There are still a few things to understand from the package — what worked well and some bits not so well, and we’ll work from there.”

All weekend has been smoldering on the Red Bull Ring, and today is no different with a temperature of 33 degrees Celsius. As par for the course, the midfield teams are the first to take to the tracks once Q1 gets underway. After five minutes Max heads out on track on a set of soft tyres. In his first flying lap in Q1, Max clocked a time of 1:07.407, keeping him momentarily in first place, with teammate Isack Hadjar just one-thousandths of a second behind. Moments later Kimi Antonelli, Lando Norris, and Lewis Hamilton improve on Max’s time. The Dutchman is nevertheless satisfied with his performance, and to save his tyres, decides not to head back out in Q1. He’s through to Q2 in sixth place, while Kimi Antonelli goes fastest. The early exitters of this qualifying round are: Williams drivers Carlos Sainz (P17) and Alexander Albon (P18), Sergio Perez (P19) and Valtteri Bottas (P20) in the Cadillac cars, and finally the Aston Martins, Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, on the last row.

In Q2, reigning championship leader Lando Norris is the first to set a time, but Max improves on his time with a 1:07.183 on soft tyres. Next, Kimi Antonelli goes even faster, and with a 1:06.763 time he’s the first driver to duck under the 1 minute 7 mark. Oscar Piastri and both Ferraris improve on Max’s time.

Max again decides not to head out onto the track, but as a result he starts to sink through the rankings. In the closing phases of Q2 he’s on P10 and on the brink of elimination. The four-time world champion narrowly holds on, however, as Pierre Gasly falls just four-hundredths of a second short of knocking Max out of the top ten. Gasly is eliminated in Q2, along with Gabriel Bortoleto (P12), Oliver Bearman (P13), Nico Hülkenberg (P14), Esteban Ocon (P15), and Franco Colapinto (P16).

In Q3, the fight for pole position gets underway. Max immediately sets the fastest time with a 1:06.475, but moments later both Mercedes go faster, with Kimi Antonelli on P1 with a strong final sector and teammate George Russell 43-thousandths of a second behind. Meanwhile, Max is 62-thousandths slower than Antonelli.

What follows is a final bid by the drivers for pole. Both Ferraris lead the charge, temporarily placing Charles Leclerc on P1 and Lewis Hamilton on P2. As Max is turning into turn nine, he is faster than Charles Leclerc. But then the rear of the RB22 gives out, and Max gets sent into the gravel before crashing heavily into the tyre barriers. The Dutchman emerges from the car unhurt, but has to settle for fifth on tomorrow’s starting grid.

Meanwhile, George Russell was following close behind Verstappen and, despite having to lift for the yellow flags, the Brit still sets the fastest time of the session. Teammate Kimi Antonelli was also on a very quick lap, but was forced to abandon it.

Russell secures his fourth pole position of the season, with the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton lining up behind in second and third. Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, ahead of Max in fifth.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri failed to make an impact, finishing sixth and seventh respectively, while Isack Hadjar claims eighth. Racing Bulls teammates Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completed the top ten as the best of the rest and will share the fifth row of the grid.

The Austrian Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday at 15:00 local time.

Results qualifying Austria: