Fred Vasseur claims ‘coin always lands in Mercedes’ favour’ after George Russell’s Austrian GP pole

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Ferrari team boss Fred Vasseur has claimed that ‘the coin always lands in Mercedes’ favour’ after George Russell secured pole position at the Red Bull Ring. 

With seconds left of Q3 at the Austrian Grand Prix, it looked like Ferrari would secure a front row lockout, with Charles Leclerc on provisional pole and Lewis Hamilton in second place. 

At that time, the likes of Russell, Kimi Antonelli and Max Verstappen were all on flying laps, as they looked to displace the Ferrari duo. 

However, Q3 was then thrown into chaos as Verstappen crashed into the barriers on his final attempt, bringing out yellow flags. At this point, Antonelli lifted and aborted his lap, but Russell lifted slightly into the final corner and still managed to secure pole position.

Immediately after the session ended, Russell was noted for a potential yellow flag infringement, but no further investigation took place, meaning he will start from P1 on Sunday.

George Russell scores pole for the Austrian Grand Prix 🇦🇹 But who surprised you the most during qualifying

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Fred Vasseur labels George Russell’s Austrian GP pole position as ‘a bit strange’

Speaking to Sky Sports Italia after the session, Vasseur refused to be drawn into the controversy, but did state that securing pole position under yellow flag conditions was ‘a bit strange’. 

Rather jokingly, Vasseur then said that the coin often lands in the right way for the Silver Arrows.

He said: “It must be said that there was only one yellow flag, not two, so it’s debatable whether it was the right call to wave just one yellow flag in that situation.

“Setting pole position under a yellow flag is a bit strange, but that’s how it went. We’ll keep fighting; I don’t want to waste energy on controversy, and I want to focus on tomorrow’s race.

“Of course, very often the coin always lands in Mercedes’ favour.”

READ MORE: Kimi Antonelli demands ‘review’ over how George Russell took pole for Austrian Grand Prix

Heading into the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, all eyes were firmly fixated on Ferrari, especially after Hamilton’s victory in Barcelona. 

During the week, it was widely reported that thanks to the help of ADUO, Ferrari were set to bring an engine upgrade to the Red Bull Ring as they continue their bid to catch the dominant Mercedes.

Although the SF-26 was equipped with an improved engine, Q3 in Austria proved that Mercedes are still quite a bit ahead when it comes to raw pace.

Russell was forced to lift on his final flying lap and still managed to put his Mercedes on pole, with a margin of more than 0.2 seconds.

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, Hamilton admitted that it will be a ‘tall order’ to beat the Mercedes.

The seven-time world champion claimed that Ferrari will not be able to get the better of Mercedes on ‘pure pace’ but could use strategy to secure victory.

Hamilton said to Sky Sports F1: “[Can we fight for the win?] In pure pace, no – the Mercedes has been very quick. But maybe with strategy there is an opportunity.

“I think winning is a tall order so we have to maximise points for the team and try to keep one of the Mercedes behind if we can. If we can have both of them behind, that will be mega.”