George Russell (Image Via Getty)George Russell kept his strong run going by taking pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix on Saturday, even after a late crash by Max Verstappen created confusion in the final moments of qualifying. The Mercedes driver still set the fastest lap at the Red Bull Ring and was later cleared by the stewards after his run was reviewed for a possible yellow flag infringement. Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton completed the top three, while championship leader Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth. Verstappen, despite crashing at the penultimate corner, will start fifth.George Russell stays on pole after Max Verstappen crash sparks late qualifying dramaThe final minutes of qualifying were packed with drama. Charles Leclerc had just moved to the top of the timesheets, and Ferrari looked ready to celebrate pole position. But George Russell produced an even quicker lap, beating Leclerc by 0.236 seconds to grab his second straight pole position and the 11th of his Formula 1 career.Soon after Russell crossed the line, Max Verstappen crashed into the barriers at the penultimate corner. The incident brought out yellow flags, leading race stewards to review whether Russell had slowed enough while completing his lap.The stewards noted the possible infringement, but after checking the data, they decided Russell had done nothing wrong. That allowed the British driver to keep pole, giving him another chance to reduce the 50-point gap to teammate and championship leader Kimi Antonelli.Verstappen’s crash ended his final push, but the Red Bull driver still managed to qualify fifth. Behind him, McLaren drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished sixth and seventh.Lewis Hamilton recovers as Aston Martin and Williams struggle againLewis Hamilton had a difficult start to the final qualifying session after making a mistake on his opening flying lap. However, the Ferrari driver recovered well on his final attempt to secure third on the grid, putting himself in a strong position after winning the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.Kimi Antonelli qualified fourth, keeping himself near the front as he continues to lead the championship standings.Further down the order, Aston Martin had another disappointing day. Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll finished at the bottom of the timesheets, with both drivers more than three seconds slower than Russell on the shortest lap of the Formula 1 calendar. Alonso tried to stay positive over team radio, saying, “We are getting closer.” However, the results showed the team still has plenty of work to do.Williams also struggled to meet expectations. Carlos Sainz could only manage 17th place, with teammate Alex Albon one spot behind him. It was another frustrating qualifying session for a team that had hoped to move forward this season under team principal James Vowles.