Max Verstappen aimed dig at FIA during Austrian GP in moment not shown on TV

Max Verstappen aimed a dig at the FIA on team radio during the Austrian Grand Prix after he questioned how they dealt with the immediate aftermath of his crash in qualifying.

Verstappen finished second in the Grand Prix at Spielberg, splitting race winner George Russell and Kimi Antonelli.

He moved up three places from his original qualifying position of fifth, having lost control of his Red Bull at turn nine during Q3 before hitting the outside wall.

Yellow flags were waved by the stewards, which prompted some confusion.

That was because Antonelli aborted his lap upon arriving turn nine, while Russell - who was behind his team-mate - crossed the line to secure pole position by over two tenths.

The FIA decided only to deploy a single yellow flag after Verstappen's crash, with the signal only upgraded to a double waved yellow around 25 seconds later - once Antonelli and Russell had completed their laps.

READ MORE: Why George Russell escaped penalty and kept Austrian GP pole position

Antonelli later acknowledged that he had made a mistake in thinking a double waved yellow signal had initially been shown, which forces drivers to slow down and be prepared to stop while aborting their lap.

Russell, meanwhile, was placed under investigation by the FIA but they were satisfied that he slowed down by a sufficient margin at turn nine.

Verstappen was told about the FIA's decision to only deploy a single yellow at first in the post-qualifying media pen, and responded: "I only heard about that now. That's quite crazy."

READ MORE: FIA respond after Max Verstappen calls out 'crazy' Austria incident

Verstappen team radio message emerges

During the Grand Prix itself, Williams driver Carlos Sainz stopped his car at the side of the start/finish straight with a suspected electrical issue.

The FIA initially waved double yellow flags for the incident before upgrading to a virtual safety car, which remained in place while marshals pushed Sainz's car through a gap into the pit lane.

Verstappen was passing Sainz's car while the double waved yellows were out, and was informed about that fact by his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.

The four-time world champion replied: "That means flat out, right? Past the car?" in what appeared to be a clear reference to the FIA's decision during qualifying and what Russell did.

Four-time World Champion, and comedian, Max Verstappen! 😅💨#F1 #AustrianGP pic.twitter.com/p4HlJ96lRe

— Formula 1 (@F1) June 28, 2026

Verstappen was hoping to set up what would have been a grandstand finish in chasing down Russell, who was on older hard tyres, but Red Bull's delay in pitting the Dutchman meant he lost what could have ended up being crucial time.

He crossed the start/finish line to come home in second, 1.6 seconds behind Russell, with Antonelli three tenths further back.

Earlier on, Verstappen quickly made ground at the beginning of the race, and overtook both Antonelli and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to move into third.

He then overtook Lewis Hamilton at the second attempt following their first pit stops, having unsuccessfully attempted to pass Hamilton on lap 11 around the outside of turns 5 and 6.

During his post-race interview, Hamilton turned to Verstappen and congratulated him on their battle and his second-placed finish. Hamilton would cross the line in fifth as his Ferrari struggled to find pace on any of three tyre compounds.