George Russell will start the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix from pole after the FIA issued the provisional starting grid for Sunday’s race at the Red Bull Ring. The Mercedes driver is listed on the front row alongside Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton third and championship leader Kimi Antonelli fourth.
The official grid document, published by the stewards at 20:00 local time on Saturday, locks in the top order after a chaotic qualifying finish in Spielberg. Russell’s 1:06.113 remains the benchmark, 0.236s clear of Leclerc, while Hamilton starts directly behind his Ferrari team-mate.
Russell Gets Clear Race-Day Launchpad
The front four gives Mercedes and Ferrari control of the launch phase before a long run to Turn 1, but it also leaves Max Verstappen with immediate work to do from fifth after his late Q3 crash. Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri line up sixth and seventh for McLaren, with Isack Hadjar, Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completing the top 10.
For Russell, the confirmation matters because Saturday’s session ended amid yellow-flag scrutiny and aborted laps behind Verstappen’s incident. With the grid now set, Mercedes have a clean chance to convert their strongest Austrian weekend of the season into a race win, while Ferrari have both cars positioned to attack from the opening lap.
The full provisional order is available in the FIA Austrian Grand Prix starting grid.
