Verstappen-Russell-FIA the never-ending story. He teased Max over the radio: “Yellow flags! I have to speed up, right?”

Chaos and controversy in qualifying It was predictable that the chaos in qualifying that broke out on Saturday afternoon at the Red Bull Ring, with George Russell’s pole position arriving at the last second despite the yellow flag displayed for Max Verstappen’s accident at the last corner and confirmed by the stewards amidst a thousand discussions, would have had some repercussions. Instead of prolonging the controversy, however, on the Sunday of the Austrian GP there were those who chose the weapon of irony to make it clear, not too subtly, what their thoughts were regarding the events of the day before. And who could it be if not Verstappen, who in the past has never missed the opportunity to tease both Russell and the international federation itself, towards which there has never been a shortage of digs. Verstappen, biting irony Providing the perfect assist to the four-time Dutch world champion was the retirement of Carlos Sainz, who due to a technical problem parked his Williams on the main straight of the Austrian circuit causing – before the entry of the Virtual Safety Car – a single yellow flag in turn 10 and a double yellow flag on the straight. Verstappen, warned via radio by his engineer Giampiero Lambiase of the presence of yellow flags, did not have to be asked and responded sarcastically: “This means pushing the car to the maximum, right?”. Then, just to prevent anyone in the race management from taking him too seriously and perhaps thinking of ruining his Sunday with a penalty, he clarified: “I’m joking”. Who knows if Russell will have appreciated the irony…

Automobile Magazine – Formula1 English, News

2026-06-29 17:06:00