F1 Austrian GP live updates: Follow latest from qualifying and FP3 at the Red Bull Ring today
Those who want to step back from the corporate labelling might like a little history lesson here.
This former airfield was soon remodelled into a racing track, hosting its first action as the Osterreichring in 1969 and holding its first grand prix a year later.
After decade-long absence following numerous crashes and a Hermann Tilke redesign, the A1 ring was back on the calendar from 1997. Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz then bought the track in 2004 after another impending absence from the calendar — and the renamed Red Bull Ring has been an F1 mainstay since 2014.
In that 11-race run, Red Bull (well, Max Verstappen) has won the Austrian Grand Prix four times.
There were also two Styrian Grands Prix held at the circuit in 2020 and 2021 — named after the province in Austria — as F1 looked to work around the COVID pandemic. Verstappen also won one of those.
The track is relatively short, comes with just 10 corners (if you're generous to the kink labelled Turn 2) and plenty of gradient changes, both uphill and down. Only Spa-Francorchamps has a greater elevation change through a lap.
The highlight is Turn 9, also known as Rindt, as the cars tear through the high-speed right hander in the midst of a roaring trip downhill.
Here are the key circuit facts: Circuit length: 4.326 km (2.688 miles)
(2.688 miles) Laps: 71
Lap record: 1:05.619 (Carlos Sainz, 2020)
(Carlos Sainz, 2020) First GP: 1970
You can take a trip around the delights of the Red Bull Ring with Madeline Coleman 's circuit breakdown, which is linked below.
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Austrian GP track breakdown: F1's mountain sprint at the mighty Red Bull Ring
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