New to the world of F1 and wondering what to expect from the Red Bull Ring after the excitement of France and the wild ride of Baku? Here's a debrief on what to expect for the next two weekends of races.
The next two race weekends will be taking place at the Red Bull Ring in the picturesque landscape of Spielberg, Austria. The circuit itself gets its name from Red Bull, after being purchased by the founder for reconstruction and subsequent return to motorsports usage, being reintroduced to F1 World Championships in 2014. The Steiermark Grand Prix (a.k.a the Styrian G.P., named after the Austrian state in which Red Bull Ring resides) was added in last year due to Covid-19 cancellations and is making another appearance this year alongside the annual Austrian Grand Prix.
Track Breakdown:
Laps: 71
Circuit length: 4.318 km
Race Distance: 306.452 km
Racing at Red Bull Ring, one of the shortest circuits in F1 and with top speeds surpassing 320 km/h, means we are in for quick, competitive laps. To get an idea of just how fast the laps will be, Carlos Sainz set the track record last year during the Styrian GP with a lap time of 1:05.619 (For reference, the fastest lap of the 2021 season thus far has been Lewis Hamilton's 1:12.919 in Monaco). Qualifying is going to be tight, leaving little to no room for errors and high possibility for shakeups.
Red Bull Ring is known to be an action-packed circuit, described as an amusement park, with the first half being all power, and the second half rewarding control through the tight corners. Red Bull Ring has 3 DRS zones in a row, separated by Turns 1 to 3, which is where we can anticipate the most action taking place. Expect the most overtaking of the event to occur around Turn 3.
The turns throughout the circuit are quite unique as none of them take place completely flat due to Red Bull Ring’s mountainside location, making them slightly more challenging for drivers. Unlike other high drama circuits, Red Bull Ring’s layout guarantees overtaking possibilities instead of the drama of coming from chaos or unusual conditions.
Last year’s back-to-back races at the Red Bull Ring were criticized by some drivers for being too predictable in terms of outcome, that the results would be generally the same between the two events. To combat this “predictability” it was expected for the 2021 season to be run in the reverse direction or as one of the three sprint race trials. Unfortunately, due to the track layout and safety features, as well as the three sprint locations already being decided, neither option was feasible. Instead, Pirelli will be bringing two different sets of tire compounds in an effort to mix things up.
Fun Facts:
The 2020 Austrian Grand Prix had 9 drivers retire all related to car/technical issues
Verstappen, Hamilton and Bottas are tied with the most wins at the Red Bull Ring with two each.
The 2020 Austrian Grand Prix and Styrian Grand Prix marked the first time in Formula 1 history that there had ever been a double header at the same circuit and layout.
In both 1987 and 2001, a deer managed to enter onto the track. In 1987, there was a collision between the deer and a McLaren driver.
Fast 5s:
The top five finishes in the past two events at Red Bull Ring have been the following:
2020 Austrian: Bottas, Leclerc, Norris, Hamilton, Sainz
2020 Styrian: Hamilton, Bottas, Verstappen, Albon, Norris
Technical Talk:
Red Bull’s layout leads to a unique set of demands on the track. Due to its high altitude and typically high temperatures, the cars' cooling demands are vastly increased. Constructors must balance the aerodynamic needs for tight, compact body styles with the cooling needs of openness when planning for this race. The overall track layout is highly power sensitive and relatively low on downforce sensitivity meaning more successful cars are likely to be from those with a solid power unit than those with high aerodynamic downforce.
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