25/06/2024
NEWS STORY
The second leg of the first triple-header of the season, the Austrian Grand Prix, takes place at Spielberg.
Several unusual features make this a unique track on the championship calendar. First of all, it boasts the lowest number of corners (10) and the shortest lap time, even if its 4.318 kilometre length make it the third shortest track after Monaco (3.337 km) and Interlagos (4.309 km). The circuit owned by Red Bull is second on the list of tracks with the biggest change in altitude, with a difference of 63.5 metres between its highest and lowest points, second only to the 102.2 metre change at Spa-Francorchamps.
As usual for this event, Pirelli has chosen the three softest compounds from the 2024 range, namely the C3 as Hard, the C4 as Medium and the C5 as Soft. The Spielberg track surface is quite old and therefore is highly abrasive, but the lateral forces exerted on the tyres are decidedly lower than the average for the season, resulting in very limited wear overall. Traction out of the slow corners and stability under braking are key contributors to being competitive at this track. It is important to manage the tyres in such a way as to avoid overheating, especially if they run at high temperatures: those drivers who don't manage to keep them cool enough could end up finding it difficult to fend off attacks from other cars, especially in the first and last sectors. Therefore, another important factor will be the ambient temperature at a venue where the weather is often rather variable. For the past two editions of this race, the two-stop strategy proved quickest, running the Medium and Hard tyres and last year, no driver gambled on the Softs.
The Styrian hills have been Formula 1's only home in Austria, with 37 races held on the circuit now known as the Red Bull Ring and one, in 1964, on a track laid out at Zeltweg's military airfield, the two venues separated by just a few hundred metres as the crow flies. This Sunday's race will be the 37th Austrian Grand Prix and the races have been held in three periods of time. Following the first race at Zeltweg, the next ones were run at what was then known as the Osterreichring from 1970 to 1987, followed by the A1-Ring from 1997 to 2003 and finally with its Red Bull Ring nomenclature from 2014 onwards. In the years 2020 and 2021, the track also hosted the Styrian Grand Prix.
Although he has yet to turn 27, Max Verstappen is already the driver with the most wins (4) at this event, to which can be added victory in one Styrian Grand Prix. 25 drivers have made it to the top step of the Austrian podium at least once and of those, 11 have been crowned world champion at least once: the aforementioned Max, Alain Prost, Alan Jones, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Emerson Fittipaldi, Niki Lauda, Nigel Mansell, Jacques Villeneuve and Lewis Hamilton. Of the teams, Ferrari and McLaren lead the way with six wins apiece, although Mercedes can claim the same number of wins at this venue, thanks to Lewis Hamilton's victory in the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix.
This weekend, the Red Bull Ring hosts the third Sprint format weekend of the season, which means just one free practice session on Friday followed by Sprint qualifying. The Sprint race takes place on Saturday followed by qualifying for Sunday afternoon's Grand Prix. This format has been used here three times, every year since 2022. To date, there have been 14 Sprint races and, hardly surprising, Max Verstappen has claimed the lion's share, winning nine of them. Valtteri Bottas has won two, while Sergio Perez, George Russell and Oscar Piastri have one win each.