Formula One Vault

PRIXVIEW – Austrian Grand Prix

Round eleven brings F1 to the Styrian Mountains for the Austrian Grand Prix, under various names for the last fifty years the Red Bull Ring, previously called the Österreichring and A1-Ring, as it has been known has hosted several races. This weekend marks ten years since the race returned to the calendar for the third time.

The 2.6-mile circuit is one of the shortest in terms of length and the shortest in terms of lap times with the laps in qualifying under seventy seconds. The circuit requires low downforce and throughout its history has retained the character of the original circuit as well as the shape despite being shortened throughout its history.

A mixture of high-speed corners and elevation during the course of a lap, 65 m (213 ft) from lowest to the highest point. Like most fast circuits it was a hard circuit on engines but more difficult on tyres, because of the speeds being so consistently high.

The circuit also requires power, corners quick reaction and good driveability in the middle sector where the main overtaking opportunities are and straights between Red Bull (Turn Ten) and AMS AG (Turn Three) only broken by the nearly ninety-degree Lauda (Turn One) and the kink called Turn Two by the FIA & FIM.

The hard-breaking zones at the end of the straights Niki Lauda, Ams AG and Rauch, makes brake failures common but are also good overtaking opportunities. This circuit is another which will favour Red Bull given its high-speed nature and fast-flowing circuit they won both of the races in 2021.

Throughout its fifty years on and off the calendar, the high altitude of the circuit in the hybrid eras has favoured the faster cars. The circuit is roughly 660 metres above sea level it is one of the highest altitude races of the season, which means that performance levels are more equal. We often see the fastest lap times of the season with the fastest laps below seventy seconds for a lap. Following cars should be easier and we have seen great races on track in the hybrid era.

Red Bull are expected to be the favourites once again as this is another more traditional circuit, which they have dominated since 2021. Max Verstappen’s driving style also seems to suit this circuit, which is short and fast which means errors are more costly.

The circuit also requires power, corners quick reaction and good driveability in the middle sector where the main overtaking opportunities are and straights between Red Bull (Turn Ten) and AMS AG (Turn Three) only broken by the nearly ninety-degree Lauda (Turn One) and the kink called Turn Two by the FIA & FIM.

The circuit also can be demanding on the cars given the long straights and harder braking zones, which is added to by this being the second highest altitude of the year which makes the cars faster but also strains the engine as there is less Oxygen for the cars.

The 1971 race saw Swiss driver Jo Siffert dominate in his BRM and Briton Jackie Stewart took his second Drivers’ Championship. The 1975 race was marred by the fatal accident of Mark Donohue, and the race itself was rain-soaked and was won by Vittorio Brambilla, winning the only F1 race of his career, and, true to form, he crashed into the guardrail and broke the nose of his car shortly after crossing the finish line.

1977 saw a slow three-corner chicane installed at Voest-Hugel, which was where Donohue had crashed two years before. What was the fastest corner on the track was now the slowest corner there and would become known as the Hella-Licht Chicane. This race was won by Australian Alan Jones in a Shadow; and like with Brambilla and Watson, it was his first Grand Prix victory.

The 1987 race was restarted twice due to accidents on the narrow pit-straight grid; and this track was also deemed too dangerous by FIA standards, because of the number of high-speed corners, lack of protection from trees and embankments and accidents at the start of many races on the narrow and confined pit straight.

This saw the end of the Österreichring, which was modernised for the first time in the 1990s and is the basis of the current Red Bull Ring. The circuit being built to retain much of the character but with shorter and slower corners. designed by Hermann Tilke who made, the circuit was made shorter and many of the corners were slowed down to create the current circuit.

The Hella-Licht chicane, Flatschach, Dr. Tiroch curve and the first half of the backstretch run up to where the Bosch-Kurve was taken out and replaced with a bypass that went directly to the second half of the fast, uphill backstretch. However, unlike many of his more modern circuits, the grass and gravel was retained making mistakes still being costly.

The A1-Ring as it was called, was dominated by McLaren and Ferrari who took three wins each, but the first race of that era was won by Williams driver Jacques Villeneuve. Ferrari’s Irvine took victory in 1999 as he set after his championship following Schumacher’s broken leg at Silverstone, it was the team’s first victory in Austria since 1970. McLaren took victory in both 2000 and 2001, Häkkinen leading from pole ahead of Coulthard.

Perhaps the final two races of this era were some of the most controversial finishes of all time, Ferrari on the final lap ordered Rubens Barrichello, who had led most of the race to allow the German through, to take victory and extend his lead over Coulthard in the championship. That resulted in Schumacher, Barrichello and Ferrari all being fined $1m and a ban on team orders until Ferrari used them at Hockenheim in 2010, with the ban then being lifted as it was deemed unworkable.

The circuit was then saved from bankruptcy after a failed redevelopment which made the circuit remained unusable for several years before it was purchased by Red Bull’s Dietrich Mateschitz and rebuilt. Renamed the Red Bull Ring, it eventually returned to the calendar in 2014 having been cancelled in 2013, as a replacement for the failed Grand Prix of New York which was due to be held on the banks of the Hudson River.

For the last ten years, the Red Bull Ring has become one of the staples of the European season, hosting twelve races thanks to the pandemic. Like in the first hybrid era this race favoured the best power unit which happened to be Mercedes. In qualifying despite Mercedes dominance of that season it was the Williams duo of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. However, it didn’t take long for the Mercedes to find a way past Nico Rosberg winning the race after undercutting the Williams.

2016 Rosberg took pole before losing out to Hamilton at the start, but he did come back during the race before the two Mercedes went wheel to wheel on the final lap when Hamilton was pushed to the outside at AMG AS as they exited the corner Rosberg pushed him onto the grass, but Hamilton exited Turn Three making contact twice The German nursing his car to victory

However, a double retirement for Mercedes in 2018 saw Max Verstappen take the first of four victories in Spielberg, Red Bull’s, first win at their home race finishing ahead of the two Ferrari’s the only other cars on the lead lap while Haas had its best finish to date with Romain Grosjean fourth and Kevin Magnussen fifth. The Dutchman took victory again in 2019, despite stalling on the grid.

Verstappen the closing stages passed both Mercedes and Ferrari to take Honda’s first win since Budapest in 2006. It was also the only race of 2019 not won by Mercedes, maybe that’s some hope that history can be repeated despite the advantage that Red Bull has.

In both 2020 and 2021 Spielberg held double headers due to the  pandemic marking the first time a circuit held two consecutive championship races. Bottas won the first race weekend beating Charles Leclerc, despite Ferrari expecting to be on the backfoot following testing. Hamilton was second on track, but was given a five-second penalty for causing a collision with Alex Albon, that moved Lando Norris moved into third scoring his first podium.

Hamilton bounced back the following weekend to win the Styrian race ahead of Bottas from pole. As the Finn dropped behind Verstappen in a battle for second but the Mercedes hung on for second.

Verstappen has dominated the race in recent years though he won the sprint in 2022, technical issues prevented him from challenging Leclerc in the closing stages of the race. Sergio Perez was forced to retire from the race, because of an issue on lap twenty-four and Leclerc’s teammate Carlos Sainz who had been part of that battle was forced to retire because of a throttle issue.

Hamilton finished the race third after Mercedes used a clever two-stop strategy while others around him had to use a three-stop, to surge through the field after starting ninth on the grid.

Race & Circuit Guide

Round		11 of 24
Race		Formula 1 Qatar Airways Großer Preis von Österreich 2024
Venue		Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Configuration		2016 Grand Prix
Circuit Length		4.318 km (2.683 mi)
Sprint	Laps Sprint	24
	Distance	103.632km (64.392mi)
Grand Prix	Laps	71
	Race Distance	306.578 km (190.420 miles)
Lap Record	Race	01:05.619 (Carlos Sainz Jr., McLaren-Renault MCL35, 2020, Formula One)
	Outright
Most wins drivers		Max Verstappen (4)
Most wins manufacture		Ferrari (7)

Fast facts

• The short track length at the Red Bull Ring often leads to tight qualifying sessions. five of the last ten pole positions at the track have been decided by less than a tenth of a second.
• Despite being the quickest lap to complete on the current calendar, with the 2020 pole time just under 63 seconds, the Red Bull Ring is actually only the fourth shortest track on the schedule, after Monaco, Mexico City
• Despite not winning in Austrian since 1982, Ford-powered cars have had more wins here than any other engined cars, with 9 victories in total between 1972 and 1982.
• Before 2017, the track officially only had nine corners. However, the FIA recognised the slight kink between the first two right-hand turns ahead of the 2017 Austrian Grand Prix. Hence, the curve became Turn 2, subsequently changing every corner number on track aside from Turn 1.

Event timetable

What happened in 2023?

Grand Prix qualifying saw Max Verstappen beat Charles Leclerc to pole by half a tenth after topping all three parts of qualifying managing to show his dominance and strength at the Red Bull Ring as he was looking for a fifth Grand Prix win at this circuit. That allowed the Dutchman to take his fourth consecutive pole at this circuit.

Leclerc going nearly a tenth and a half faster than his Ferrari teammate Carlos Sainz. Lando Norris put McLaren’s upgrades to good use going fourth, a tenth and a half ahead of Lewis Hamilton.

Come Sprint Qualifying Verstappen increased his advantage this time by half a second ahead of Sergio Perez, It was a much better session for the Mexican after being knocked out in Grand Prix qualifying in Q2. However, beating his teammate Verstappen still looked to be a difficult challenge. Lando Norris was third beginning the McLaren revival which saw him take victory in Miami in May.

Verstappen dominated the sprint beating Perez by twenty-one seconds. The Dutchman had initially lost the lead off the line to Perez as he struggled for grip he then stayed behind the Mexican through the first sector before launching a move around the outside taking the lead at Rauch.

Carlos Sainz was third for Ferrari, the Spaniard two seconds behind Perez he looked to have a quiet sprint after Aston Martin decided not to fight. Lance Stroll finished fourth ahead of Fernando Alonso.

Verstappen’s dominance of the weekend continued in the Grand Prix with him finishing five seconds ahead of Leclerc. The Red Bull driver continued his dominant form to take ten wins for Red Bull in a row after leading nearly every lap and showing how dominant the Red Bull is and although the gap appeared to narrow as he was only five seconds behind.

Perez was third, the Mexican who had a poor qualifying session once again use the pace advantage of the Red Bull to come through the pack and then have a thrilling battle for the second half of the race and a nail-biting final few laps. Sainz and Perez justling with each other through AMG AG along the back straight and into Rauch.

What to watch for?

The big question is how close the rest of the field to Red Bull are, it doesn’t look to be too big of a challenge as we are at high altitude which acts as a performance leveller. We have seen in recent races how close it has been in recent races, this will continue to be the case in Spielberg as it is always been close. there could be another close battle for both wins.

Last weekend I thought answered a big question, the gap which saw Red Bull dominate for the last two and a half years has been wiped out and this weekend sees a reset in aero testing based on championship order. I doubt that will have an impact on track but the fact Red Bull is under pressure gives a reason to be excited.

Lando Norris has always gone well here and in the closing stages in Barcelona was putting pressure on Max Verstappen, this circuit is in my view like a go-kart track as the short, long straights creates opportunities for overtaking. But these battles can go on through out the race between the top four teams. Mercedes I think are back in the fight and can fight for victories.

Ferrari had a difficult weekend in Barcelona they will be hoping that they can be back in the fight with Red Bull, McLaren an Mercedes. I think this is quite important to see as this has been the point over the last decade where their season has started to drop away and if when the regulation change in 2026 if they were fighting for championships they need to show they can bounce back.

This circuit is an old-school circuit as explained above, we know communication is going to be key given the short lap here teams can trip over each other and the tyres can sometimes hold up for multiple flying laps in qualifying. If we get variable conditions the track can be difficult because its lined with grass and grave

Strategy can be key as I think this could be another two-stop race and we see high tyre deg coupled with the opportunities to overtake plenty. The mountains can also create changeable conditions so again reacting to a more turbulent qualifying’s and races can carry huge rewards if you get it right and losses if you don’t.

2022 vs 2023 Race Data

2023 Lap time comparison

Tyres