FIA respond as Max Verstappen calls out ‘crazy’ Austria incident

The FIA have released a statement after Max Verstappen questioned the decision to initially deploy a single yellow flag following his crash in Austrian Grand Prix qualifying.

Verstappen lost control of his Red Bull at turn nine on what was his final flying lap of Q3.

The four-time world champion span out into the gravel and hit the wall, causing significant damage to the left side of his car.

In the seconds that followed, the FIA deployed a single yellow flag for the incident, which the Mercedes pair of Kimi Antonelli and George Russell passed on the way to finishing their laps.

Confusion then reigned as Antonelli aborted his lap upon seeing the yellow flag, while Russell only lifted and was able to qualify on pole position by over two tenths ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

The FIA investigated Russell over a possible yellow flag infringement but took no further action, having deemed that Russell slowed down sufficiently in the marshalling sector.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stated after qualifying that Antonelli had mistook the signal for a double yellow flag, which is where drivers must abort their lap or face having it deleted regardless.

Russell, meanwhile, slowed by 25km/h and gave up around a tenth of a second in lap time.

READ MORE: Why George Russell escaped penalty and kept Austrian GP pole after yellow flag incident

After his crash, Verstappen was checked and released from the medical centre - and immediately questioned the single yellow flag deployment - and the delay in changing it to a double yellow - during his media interview.

"I only heard about that now," he said. "That's quite crazy."

Antonelli, acknowledged that he had made a mistake in mistaking the single yellow signal for a double, but claimed that the FIA's protocol should be looked at ahead of future races.

"There was a car in the wall in a fast corner," he told reporters. "So I think in this situation, I don't know why it didn't go double yellow straight away because it's a super quick corner, and if you go off at the same time, it can end up very badly.

"So that was confusing, but it is what it is. For sure, it's something that needs to be reviewed, but especially when it happens in a high-speed corner.

"If it's a low speed, single yellow can be okay. But fast corner, it should be double yellow straight away."

FIA respond amid Verstappen criticism

As per Autosport, the FIA have stated that the correct procedure was followed, with race control deploying the single yellow flag immediately following Verstappen's crash.

Indeed, their live race control messages screen show that it took a matter of seconds from Verstappen first losing control of the car for a yellow flag signal to appear on the same screen.

It was around 20 seconds later that the signal changed to double waved yellows, once Antonelli and Russell had already completed their laps.

The FIA say that, again, the correct procedure was followed, with race control taking time to assess the extent of the damage or potential danger once a car hits the barrier before then deciding whether to deploy double waved yellows or even a red flag.

Austrian GP race start time

Russell will start Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix from pole, ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc - who was on provisional pole before Verstappen's crash - and his Scuderia team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

Verstappen, meanwhile, starts from fifth, having been on course to potentially qualify on at least the second row had he completed his lap.

Sunday's race gets underway at 2pm UK time (3pm local) at the Red Bull Ring circuit in Spielberg.