The Red Bull Ring, a green track with an average speed of 200 km/h

The history between Formula 1 and the Austrian Grand Prix is a perpetual back-and-forth. Starting in 1964, with the first Grand Prix in Zeltweg, just a stone’s throw from the current Red Bull Ring, it has been written in fits and starts with a first interruption from 1966 to 1969, a second from 1988 to 1996, and a third from 2004 to 2013, but always on the same circuit, which has just changed its name.

Österreichring, A1-Ring, Red Bull Ring… All these names refer to one and the same track located in Spielberg, in the green mountains of the Styria province, a triangular region of Austria, connected by the cities of Vienna, Salzburg, and Graz.

Red Bull, a victory at home?

Dietrich Mateschitz, the mastermind behind Red Bull, greatly contributed to the return of F1 to Spielberg by purchasing the abandoned circuit in 2003. 200 million dollars were injected for renovations until the end of 2013, followed by another 40 million for organizing the Grand Prix. Needless to say, a good result at home seems mandatory.

Despite Daniel Ricciardo’s nail-biting triumph at the Canadian Grand Prix two weeks ago, Mercedes is still favored in the predictions. The star brand’s winning streak came to a sudden halt in North America, but before their electrical issue, the Silver Arrows were significantly dominating the rest of the pack on a track with characteristics similar to those of the Red Bull Ring.

Circuit features

The Red Bull Ring is one of the shortest circuits on the calendar. It is mainly made up of long straights, interspersed with slow and medium corners, with only the first three turns requiring low gears during the last Grand Prix held there. The average speed was very high, with 213 km/h during Michael Schumacher’s victory in 2003, the most recent race.

Since then, the technical characteristics of Formula 1 cars have been transformed and teams will have to rely on their computer simulations. One element could disrupt them: a rather “green” track that should evolve over the sessions, as it will be rubbered in by the successive passes of the cars.

Button, Alonso, Räikkönen and Massa: the “old hands”

Even though the last race took place over ten years ago: four drivers have already competed in a Formula 1 Grand Prix on this circuit. Jenson Button, with four appearances, Kimi Räikkonen, three, Fernando Alonso, two, and Felipe Massa, one, clearly assert their veteran status here.

The youngest are not left out. Beginners Kevin Magnussen, in Formula Renault 3.5, and Daniil Kvyat, in Formula Renault 2.0 Alps, have both raced on the most recent track.

Spielberg in numbers

From our special correspondent in Spielberg