Round eleven kicks off the more relaxed leg of the summer with two doubleheaders over six weeks before the official August break in the Styrian Mountains for the Austrian Grand Prix. The shortest circuit 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. The area around the Red Bull Ring has been home to F1 since the 1960s originally Zeltweg Air Base two miles away, before moving to the Osterreichring in 1970, now called the Red Bull Ring.
A mixture of high-speed corners and elevation during the course of a lap, 65 m (213 ft) from the 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. It makes this circuit feel like a go-kart circuit as it requires power, traction and straight-line speed for the straights and corners.
This creates serval opportunities at the end of the straights with Lauda (Turn One), Turn Two AMS AG (Three) and Lauda (Ten) being good places to overtake under braking. This means this creates close racing with plenty of overtaking opportunities as well as some of the closest races of the season at the front.
Although narrow at 10 m (11 yd) in all places, the track was very fast, every corner was a fast sweeper and was taken in no lower than third gear in a five-speed gearbox and fourth in a six-speed gearbox.
Throughout its fifty years on and off the calendar, the high altitude of the circuit in the turbo 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.
The first race at this venue was held in 1970 on the much longer Osterreichring which shared similar characteristics to the current shorter Red Bull Ring, with its long straights and fast-flowing corners, making it popular with drivers and fans.
The 1971 race saw 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.
This circuit favours turbo power units with the Renault-powered Williams powering Alan Jones to his second win in 1979. Turbo power helps offset some of the loss of ICE power because this is one of the highest in terms of altitude races of the season like Mexico City and Sao Paulo.
1984 saw Lauda finally take victory at home Grand Prix in his McLaren, and Prost won the next two races. The 1985 race saw a fearsome crash at the Panorama Curve when Andrea de Cesaris spectacularly rolled his Ligier, which led to him being fired from the team.
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.
The early 1990s saw the first redevelopment of the circuit which formed the basis of this modern circuit, 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. Eddie Irvine took victory in 1999, Ferrari’s first win in Styria for thirty years. 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
After a failed redevelopment by the owners going bankrupt and being brought by Red Bull rendering the circuit unusable for most of the 2000s, rebuilding work finally began in 2009 with the circuit reopening with the Austrian Historic Grand Prix in May 2011. Before the Grand Prix returned in 2014 replacing the failed New York Grand Prix.
Like in the first hybrid era, this race favoured the best power unit which happened to be Mercedes. In qualifying despite Mercedes’s 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 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, in the closing stages passing 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, which 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. The Finn dropped behind Verstappen in a battle for second but the Mercedes hung on.
Leclerc took victory in 2022 finishing a second and a half ahead of Verstappen, following a race-long battle despite having throttle issues. The Ferrari driver passed the Dutchman early on as he dived down the inside at Remus at that stage in the race the Red Bull looked slower, trying to come back at Turn Four he locked up dropping further behind. 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.
Verstappen took his fifth win in 2023 finishing the race five seconds ahead of Leclerc, as he took Red Bull’s tenth win in a row. The Dutchman 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.
Race & Circuit Guide
| Round | 11 of 24 | |
| Race | Formula 1 MSC Cruises Austrian Grand Prix 2025 | |
| Venue | Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Austria | |
| Configuration | 2016 Grand Prix | |
| Circuit Length | 4.318 km (2.683 mi) | |
| Laps | 71 | |
| Race Distance | 306.452 km (190.420 mi) | |
| 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
- If you were to lay the Red Bull Ring out in a straight line it would easily reach the race’s former venue at Zeltweg Airfield.
- Rolf Stommelen took the only podium finish of his F1 career at the Austrian Grand Prix in 1970. He finished third having started seventeenth – the furthest back grid position a podium finish has come from at the track
- Despite being the quickest lap to complete on the current calendar, with the record 2020 pole time just under 63 seconds, the Red Bull Ring is actually only the fourth shortest track on the schedule, after Monaco, Mexico and Brazil.
- The short track length at the Red Bull Ring often leads to tight qualifying sessions. 7 of the last 12 pole positions at the track have been decided by less than a tenth of a second.
- David Coulthard finished as runner-up at the Austrian Grand Prix for four consecutive seasons between 1997 and 2000. He finally won the event in 2001.
Event timetable
Session |
Local (CEST) |
UK (BST) |
Friday |
||
| P1 | 13:30-14:30 | 12:30-13:30 |
| P2 | 17:00-18:00 | 16:00-17:00 |
Saturday |
||
| P3 | 12:30-13:30 | 11:30-12:30 |
| Qualifying | 16:00-17:00 | 15:00-16:00 |
Sunday |
||
| Race | 15:00 | 14:00 |
What happened in 2024?
FP1 saw Max Verstappen go three-tenths faster than Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, despite bringing out the red flag. Piastri going just under a tenth faster than the Ferraris with Charles Leclerc who was ahead of his teammate Carlos Sainz by seven hundredths. Mercedes looked also be in the hunt, Lewis Hamilton going fifth just over half a second off Verstappen’s session-topping time.
Sprint Qualifying Verstappen was once again fastest with a 04.686 going just under a tenth faster than Norris. Norris produced the fastest time in the middle sector to nip ahead on a 04.779, but Verstappen’s leading pace in the first and final sectors made the difference as he came through to top the session with a 04.686. Piastri went nearly seven hundredths faster than George Russell.
Verstappen converted pole in the sprint into a four and a half seconds to win after fending off Norris to take his third sprint win of the year. Norris only briefly lost second to Piastri when he tried to lunge pass Verstappen on Lap Five at AMG AS before the Australian closed in and passed his teammate a few corners later. Verstappen was then able to pull away following that battle between the two McLarens, as Piastri closed the gap when they both ran too deep at AMG AS and Rauch.
Verstappen again took pole with a 04.314 in Grand Prix qualifying again ahead of Norris this time by four-tenths. Russell was prompted to third after Piastri had his fastest time deleted for track limits at Turn Six. That moved Sainz, Lewis Hamilton and Leclerc all up one place. Sainz was a hundredth behind Russell’s Mercedes and went half a tenth faster than Hamilton
Russell took victory finishing almost two seconds ahead of Piastri after they inherited places after Verstappen and Norris collided with seven laps to go. Norris tried to overtake Verstappen at AMG AS with them both getting punchers and the Dutchman gaining a five-second penalty.
Russell had qualified third only briefly losing out to Hamilton early on before retaking third shortly after, from then on was third up until the collision between Verstappen and Norris. But they were pushed all the way by Piastri in the final laps but was able to maintain his winning advantage. Piastri delivered another solid race in fourth before things changed dramatically. Carlos Sainz was third two and a half seconds behind Piastri.
Norris and Verstappen both had pushed the limits of acceptability as they scrapped it out. Norris before the collision had complained about the “unfair” defence by Verstappen. Hamilton was fourth ahead of Verstappen who was given a time penalty, but the collision had dropped him to fifth. The Dutchman had enough of an advantage to finish ahead of Nico Hulkenberg with the ten-second penalty added by fourteen seconds.
Sprint Pole Position |
Max Verstappen Red Bull – Honda RBPT 01:04.586 |
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Sprint Winner |
Max Verstappen Red Bull – Honda RBPT 26:41.389 |
|||||
Pole Position |
Max Verstappen Red Bull – Honda RBPT 01:04.314 |
|||||
Podium |
||||||
Po |
Name |
Nat |
Team |
Time |
Points |
|
| 1 | George Russell | GBR | Mercedes | 01:24:22.798 | 25 | |
| 2 | Oscar Piastri | AUS | McLaren – Mercedes | +00:01.906 | 18 | |
| 3 | Carlos Sainz | ESP | Ferrari | +00:04.533 | 15 | |
| Fastest
Lap |
Fernando Alonso | ESP | Aston Martin – Mercedes | 01:07.694 | 0 | |
Championship Standings
Drivers’ Championship |
Constructors Championship |
|||
Po |
Name |
Points |
Constructor |
Points |
| 1 | Oscar Piastri | 186 | McLaren – Mercedes | 362 |
| 2 | Lando Norris | 176 | Ferrari | 165 |
| 3 | Max Verstappen | 137 | Mercedes | 15 |
| 4 | George Russell | 111 | Red Bull – Honda RBPT | 144 |
| 5 | Charles Leclerc | 94 | Williams – Mercedes | 54 |
What to watch for?
The build-up to this weekend I feel is going to be focused on McLaren after the late collision in Montreal between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris. We knew as we’ve and McLaren said it was going to happen and Norris took responsibility though it was within the ‘Papya Rules,’ I wonder what impact it has on both of them, particularly Norris when it comes to racing each other.
Norris scored his first podium here in 2020, and last year he pushed Verstappen throughout the of the picture just yet, this is one of this strongest circuits. Verstappen, I think faces a key European summer as it’s often in July and the run into the August break when championship stones towards winning the championship.
I think they should again have the slight edge as this is a high-speed and downforce circuit where straight line speed and being good in the corners as this circuit is all about the straight-line speed. But I think they can’t rest on their advantage as this circuit often creates some of the closest times in qualifying and racing at the front can be tight, we have also had a few surprises in recent years.
We have seen in recent races it be very tight in qualifying and Spielberg often has one of the tightest sessions of the season, meaning that it could be even narrower margins when we get to Q1-Q2 and Q2-Q3, as well as eventually pole. Last season, just under a tenth was between pole and second in sprint qualifying.
The Red Bull Ring is an old-school circuit, despite overtaking being easier than at other circuits there are risks as this circuit is lined by grass and gravel. As always, we say at these types of circuits can lead to VSCs, safety cars and in qualifying red flags, but we see they deliver some great racing.
Ferrari is having a mixed season and Montreal showed how mixed, they will be hoping to turn the corner and have a better second half of the season. They I think are finding their feet finally and if they begin getting strong and consistent results in the second half of the season as which starts mathematically next weekend. However we still have four races before the break, and under fifty points between Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
Williams I feel are having a really strong season, they look to be comfortably in fifth unless a major surprise, they have a decent pace to lead the midfield and this appears to be a type of circuit which favours them.
2023 vs 2024 Race Data
P1 Fastest |
Q1 Fastest |
Q2 Fastest |
Q3 Fastest |
SQ1 Fastest |
SQ2 Fastest |
SQ3 Fastest |
Sprint time |
Race Time |
Fastest Lap |
|
2024 |
01:05.685 | 01:05.263 | 01:04.469 | 01:04.318 | 01:05.690 | 01:05.186 | 01:04.686 | 26:41.389 | 01:24:22.798 | 01:07.697 |
Diff |
-00.057 | -00.147 | -00.482 | -00.073 | -00.503 | -00.185 | +00.246 | -04:15.459 | -01:50.191 | +00.685 |
2023 |
01:05.742 | 01:05.116 | 01:04.951 | 01:04.391 | 01:06.187 | 01:05.371 | 01:04.440 | 30:26.730 | 01:25:33.607 | 01:07.012 |
2024 Lap time comparison
FP1 |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
SQ1 |
SQ2 |
SQ3 |
Sprint |
Grand Prix |
||||||||||||
Team |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Fastest Time |
Gap |
Race. Time |
Gap |
Inter |
Race. Time |
Gap |
Inter |
Mercedes |
01:06.254 | +00.569 | 01:05.541 | +00.278 | 01:05.016 | +00.547 | 01:04.840 | +00.522 | 01:05.786 | +00.096 | 01:05.325 | +00.139 | 01:05.054 | +00.368 | 26:49.743 | +00:08.354 | +00:03.006 | 01:24:22.798 | +00:00.000 | +00.000 |
Red Bull |
01:05.685 | +00.000 | 01:05.336 | +00.073 | 01:04.469 | +00.000 | 01:04.318 | +00.000 | 01:05.690 | +00.000 | 01:05.186 | +00.000 | 01:04.686 | +00.000 | 26:41.389 | +00:00.000 | +00.000 | 01:25:00.051 | +00:37.253 | +00:18.609 |
Ferrari |
01:06.055 | +00.370 | 01:05.263 | +00.000 | 01:05.016 | +00.547 | 01:04.851 | +00.533 | 01:05.781 | +00.083 | 01:05.435 | +00.249 | 01:05.126 | +00.440 | 26:51.378 | +00:09.989 | +00:01.635 | 01:24.27.331 | +00:04.533 | +00:02.627 |
McLaren |
01:05.961 | +00.276 | 01:05.311 | +00.048 | 01:05.070 | +00.601 | 01:04.718 | +00.400 | 01:05.786 | +00.087 | 01:05.370 | +00.184 | 01:04.779 | +00.093 | 26:46.005 | +00:04.616 | +00:04.616 | 01:24:24.704 | +00:01.906 | +00:01.906 |
Aston Martin |
01:06.384 | +00.699 | 01:05.656 | +00.393 | 01:05.639 | +01.170 | N/A | 01:06.037 | +00.347 | 01:05.847 | +00.661 | N/A | 27:11.564 | +00:30.839 | +00:06.108 | 01:24:33.032 | + 1 Lap | + 1 Lap | ||
Alpha Tauri |
01:06.579 | +00.894 | 01:05.563 | +00.300 | 01:05.289 | +00.820 | N/A | 01:06.557 | +00.867 | 01:05.960 | +00.774 | N/A | 27:16.841 | +00:35.452 | +00:04.144 | 01:24:35.943 | + 1 Lap | +00:00.814 | ||
Alpine |
01:06.297 | +00.612 | 01:05.574 | +00.311 | 01:05.274 | +00.805 | 01:05.883 | +01.565 | 01:06.343 | +00.653 | 01:05.686 | +00.500 | 01:06.101 | +01.415 | 01:05.574 | +00.311 | 01:05.274 | 01:25:23.967 | +01:07.056 | +00:00.597 |
Haas |
01:06.966 | +01.281 | 01:05.508 | +00.245 | 01:05.347 | +00.878 | 01:05.385 | +01.067 | 01:06.387 | +00.697 | 01:05.806 | +00.620 | N/A | 01:05.508 | +00.245 | 01:05.347 | 01:25:23.153 | +01:00.355 | +00:05.683 | |
Sauber |
01:06.919 | +01.234 | 01:05.847 | +00.584 | N/A | N/A | 01:06.725 | +01.035 | N/A | N/A | 27:27.900 | +00:48.423 | +00:01.912 | 01:24:42.173 | + 1 Lap | +00:03.509 | ||||
Williams |
01:06.995 | +01.310 | 01:05.736 | +00.473 | N/A | N/A | 01:06.518 | +00.828 | Did Not Finish | N/A | 27:25.465 | +00:44.076 | +00:00.921 | 01:24:38.664 | +1 Lap | +00:02.911 | ||||
Tyres
White Hard (C3) |
Yellow Medium (C4) |
Red Soft (C5) |
