George Russell clinches pole in chaotic Austrian GP qualifying

Briton George Russell clinched a pole position for Mercedes in Saturday’s chaotic Austrian Grand Prix qualifying, with Max Verstappen crashing out during his final flying lap.

Russell’s late-determined effort for the pole paid off as he beat Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by 0.236 seconds.

Leclerc's Ferrari teammate Lewis Hamilton, who won the Barcelona Grand Prix, finished third fastest.

George Russell was investigated for a potential double-yellow flag violation following Verstappen's crash but the investigation was later called off.

"I saw the yellow, I had a big lift into the corner... it was a single yellow and should be okay," said Russell, who continued Mercedes's streak of securing pole position for the eighth race in a row.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli will start the race from fourth place on Sunday after aborting his final lap following Verstappen's crash.

"I don’t know why but I thought it was a double yellow, so I aborted completely... I shouldn’t have done that. That was my mistake," the 19-year-old Italian, who has won five of the seven races so far, told Sky Sports.

Four-time champion Verstappen barely made it to the third qualifying session, as 11th-placed Pierre Gasly finished just 0.460 seconds behind him.

But the Red Bull driver, in a bid to set his final lap the fastest, in the last qualifying session, slid across the gravel and hit the wall at turn nine. Fortunately, he came out of his car apparently unharmed.

"It's a shame as realistically we could have been (third)," Verstappen told Sky Sports.

"There are still some things we want to understand from the package, some that worked well and some not so well, and work from there."

Verstappen, who is in seventh position in the championship, finished fifth on the grid thanks to an earlier lap time.

Antonelli sits 41 points ahead of Hamilton in the standings going into Sunday's race.

Seven-time champion Hamilton said: "To have the two Ferraris in second and third is fantastic and a reflection of the amazing work back at the factory... I'm just really proud of everybody."