My new favourite sub-genre of F1 content is seeing TikToks from people camping out for the Grand Prix weekends. Even though it’s only Thursday as I write, this weekend is definitely going to be a treat. The orange army is out in force at Spielberg in Austria this weekend to support Max Verstappen at Red Bull’s home race. So far I’ve seen camper vans customised with #1 and Super Max blasting at any opportunity.
The Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring is synonymous with the dominant performance we have come to recognise as a Max Verstappen special. He currently holds the track record for race wins here with 4 previous victories. This week there is also the added excitement of the Sprint Race Weekend format. This means that qualifying will run on Friday afternoon and decide the grid for the sprint race on Saturday, the results of which will decide the race grid for Sunday. Typically, Austria provides excellent wheel-to-wheel racing and an exciting Sunday. Many people have said that they think adding the sprint format to the Austrian Grand Prix is excessive but personally, the more on-track action, the better. After a very dramatic race at Silverstone, this weekend will certainly have to deliver if it wants to impress fans still looking to be swayed by the sprint format.
The 2.7 mile track is fairly short, with only 9 turns and lap times of just over a minute. However, the picturesque setting within the Styrian mountains, as well as the elevation changes within the track, makes it an exciting race to watch. There have been several impressive moments here in the last few years; in 2020, Lando Norris secured his first podium in F1 by making the most of Lewis Hamilton’s 5 second time penalty, cutting an impressive 1.5 seconds out of his lap time on the final lap to be within that 5 second window to his opponent in third place
Last year’s race saw a lot of elbows out. Both Norris and Pérez received time penalties for forcing other drivers off track. As the Red Bull Ring is largely bordered by gravel traps, it certainly raises the stakes for drivers getting involved in battles.
In this round, Max Verstappen will be looking to add another home victory to his record in front of what is certainly his crowd. Charles Leclerc will be looking to break his streak of poor performances at this track and claw back the hope of a title challenge this season. Maybe even Carlos Sainz will be energized by his maiden win and enter the weekend all-guns-blazing. I for one will be eyes peeled for this weekend. With racing action on both Saturday and Sunday, it’s all to play for.
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