Russell starts on pole for Austrian Grand Prix aiming to reignite F1 title challenge

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SPIELBERG, Austria (AP) — George Russell has a chance to put himself firmly back in the Formula 1 championship hunt as he starts on pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Russell took pole in a controversial qualifying session, setting the fastest time as a yellow flag was displayed for a crash by Max Verstappen. Russell argued he'd lifted off enough to be safe.

Russell hasn't won since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. This is his third pole since then but he lost one potential win in Canada when his car broke down, and was beaten by the resurgent Lewis Hamilton last time out at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.

With Kimi Antonelli starting fourth, this is Russell's chance to cut into his Mercedes teammate's standings lead. Antonelli leads by 41 points from Hamilton and 50 from Russell.

Charles Leclerc and Hamilton start second and third for Ferrari, which has struggled on tracks like Austria where power is more important than cornering ability. A small engine upgrade for this week wasn't enough to bridge the gap.

“I think this weekend we’ve not been confident that we could fight for a win,” Hamilton said after qualifying.

“We knew coming into this weekend it would be tough with the long straights we’ve got here, and the deficit looked bigger than other circuits that we’ve been at. Maybe it’s altitude, I’m not sure.”

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing