Formula One is back this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, one of the shortest tracks on the calendar.
Though the look and feel of the track evoke the sport’s European roots, Red Bull Ring is a relatively modern creation. It first hosted racing in 1969 as the Osterreichring, when it took over the old Zeltweg airfield circuit. F1 had its first grand prix at the new track a year later.
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The circuit hosted its last race on a 1987 weekend marred by accidents, including a collision with a deer during practice and a grand prix that needed three starts to get going properly. The first start saw a multi-car crash. On the second, Nigel Mansell’s slow start triggered a 12-car pileup.
F1 came back a decade later after famed track designer Hermann Tilke converted the Osterreichring into a shorter track called the A1-Ring. In 2004, Red Bull bought the circuit in its native land and gave it the moniker we know today. Red Bull Ring returned to the F1 calendar a decade later.
Given how short the circuit is, impeding and traffic concerns typically arise at Red Bull Ring. However, track limits became a major issue last time out in Austria. Many lap times were deleted during qualifying (47, to be exact), and eight drivers received 12 combined penalties on race day, changing the final race classification.
Ahead of another sprint weekend, here’s what you need to know about the short track that packs a punch.
Key Specs
How Dietrich Mateschitz and Red Bull brought F1 back to Spielberg
Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz bought the track in 2004, the same year he purchased Jaguar’s F1 team. He renamed both after his company. While Red Bull Racing debuted in 2005, Red Bull Ring sat on the sidelines for the next decade as it was brought up to date.
The circuit held its opening ceremony in 2011 and was approved as a standard F1 track; however, it didn’t host a grand prix for a couple more years.
“If we were to bring Formula One back to Styria, then we should take a long-term approach,” Mateschitz told Speedweek.de in January 2013. “We are talking about at least three to five years. By then, the track would be perfect for this purpose.”
Six months later, Red Bull and then-CEO Bernie Ecclestone reached a seven-year deal for the circuit. The cost of race promotion is high. “Ticket revenues will probably cover the cost of staging the race, but not the promoter’s fee,” Mateschitz said, per Autosport. “That’s my expense. But I think winning three years in a row, the F1 championships with Red Bull Racing, did a little to help us.”
Small but mighty
Nestled in the Styrian mountains, Red Bull Ring is nearly 700 meters (2,300 feet) above sea level, making the Austrian track the highest European circuit on this year’s schedule. This circuit is also second in terms of elevation changes, with 63.5 meters (208 feet, or about 15 stories) between the lowest and highest points of the track.
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Red Bull Ring may produce a short lap and has just 10 turns — the fewest of any track on the current calendar — but it packs plenty into the 65 seconds or so drivers spend making the loop.
A range of low-, medium- and high-speed corners break up the long straights, and the circuit features multiple heavy braking zones, such as Turns 1, 3, and 4. The thinner air, nearly half a mile above sea level, coupled with the short distance between corners, makes it harder to cool the car, especially the engine and brakes, to the optimal window.
Drivers will hit Turns 2, 5 and 8 at full throttle. Engineers must find a balance in the car setup because of the mix of low- and high-speed turns.
“It’s got a combination of corners – being on the hill, it’s always quite exposed to the wind, so you get these moments where it catches you out,” Mercedes’ George Russell said last year when asked about the difficulty of setting up the car here. Weather in the region is unpredictable, and conditions can rapidly change, placing more weight on strategy and quick reaction times.
It’s worth remembering that the teams only have one practice session.
Track limit concerns after the 2023 race weekend
The 2023 Austrian Grand Prix weekend was one to remember for the wrong reason: track limits.
Friday’s qualifying session saw 47 lap times deleted, within the same range as the 2022 race (43 lap times), and only two drivers didn’t commit a breach. With long straights and 90-degree turns at a few turns, it can be easy for the drivers to go wide. Turn 10 proved to be one of the trickiest, with 33 out of the 47 breaches happening at the high-speed, downhill right-hander.
GO DEEPER
F1 track limits, explained: How a simple racing rule became a complicated topic
Come race day, Aston Martin filed a post-race protest that numerous cars weren’t penalized for their violations. It took nearly five hours for the final race classification to be confirmed. Eight drivers earned penalties.
The circuit made changes going into this year’s race. Similar to several of Spain’s corners, a blue line is being added as a visual aid to help the race control better judge track limit violations. Initially, it was simply a white line followed by a curb, but now, some parts of the track will show the traditional white line, a blue line and then the curb. Additionally, gravel traps have been added to the final two corners as a natural deterrent.
(Additional reporting from Luke Smith)
(This is an updated version of a story originally published in June 2023.)
(Track video courtesy of EA Sports F1 — learn more about “F1 24″ here.)
(Lead image: Dan Isitene-Formula 1, Clive Rose / Getty Images; Design: Drew Jordan/The Athletic)
