How Russell's quick thinking produced unexpected pole

How Russell's quick thinking produced unexpected poleImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, George Russell has been on pole position four times this season ByAndrew BensonF1 CorrespondentPublished19 minutes ago12 CommentsQuick thinking, experience and a "magic lap" came together to produce an unexpected pole position for George Russell at the Austrian Grand Prix.Many questions were raised by the events that immediately followed Max Verstappen's crash at Turn Nine on his final lap at the end of qualifying - but Russell's response to it was not one of them.The Briton, who needs a bit of luck after a troubled season so far, reacted correctly to the yellow flag zone and he leapfrogged the two Ferraris onto pole, when his team-mate Kimi Antonelli slowed down too much, and the time he set on his first lap was good enough only for fourth.Russell's judgement, to lift off just enough to satisfy the rules, but not so much that it wrecked his lap, was the difference between taking a much-needed pole and being fourth on the grid.The wider questions will continue, though. Why was only a single yellow waved initially when Verstappen spun across the gravel trap and hit the wall at the fastest corner on the track, taken at nearly 140mph?Why did it take 20 seconds for race control to decide it really should have been a double yellow - by which time everyone had already completed their laps?But in the circumstances that prevailed, it was Russell who read them correctly.Russell claims controversial pole after Verstappen crashPublished3 hours agoHow to follow Austrian Grand Prix on the BBCPublished1 day agoAndrew Benson Q&A: Send us your questionsPublished1 day agoWhere did that come from?Russell had not looked a contender for pole in Austria for much of the weekend, and he lagged behind Antonelli in the first two qualifying sessions.But he found a groove in the third session, second fastest by just 0.043secs and then nailing a beauty of a final lap....