01
Memorable Moments
02
Through the years in Austria
Max and Daniel get out the lederhosen in 2018
© Getty
Daniel Ricciardo claims 3rd in 2017
© Getty
Max Verstappen wins in Spielberg in 2021
© Getty
Max and Checo celebrate their podiums together in 2023
© Getty
03
What makes the Red Bull Ring unique?
Location, location, location. The Red Bull Ring is situated in the region of Styria, about two hours south of Vienna. It’s rural, hilly, verdant and jaw-droppingly spectacular. Plonked into a sloping valley in the foothills of the Styrian, the track is one of the most beautiful we visit and a wonderful place to go racing. The rural vibe lends itself to camping and, on race weekend, the fields around the track fill with motorhomes, tents and the caravans of tens of thousands of Dutch fans, who turn the place ‘Max orange’ for the whole weekend. The atmosphere here is incredible.
What else? Well, the Red Bull Ring is one of the shortest tracks on the calendar — only Interlagos, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Zandvoort and Monaco are shorter — but it’s also one of the highest-speed tracks and, in qualifying, its 10 corners are covered in a blistering 64 seconds. In fact, three of the corners are so un-corner-like that they’re taken flat out and are not really regarded as proper turns.
04
Circuit characteristics
On paper, the Red Bull Ring looks pretty straightforward – 10 corners, a few baked-in overtaking spots, rinse and repeat 71 times – but there’s a lot more to our home track than that, and it’s trickier than you might think. The blend of short straights and high-speed sections through Turns 6-7 and 9-10, with slower-speed stuff in Turns 1, 3 and 4, means finding the ideal set-up isn’t easy. While the slow bits require good mechanical grip and traction on exit, the fast stuff needs stability and aero efficiency. Getting the balance right is a bit of a dark art.
One interesting element is that the shortness of the lap, around 1m 07s, means there’s a bit more pressure on the pit wall as there’s simply less time in which to make decisions, particularly if you want to cover rival pit stops or incidents. Contrast that with Spa-Francorchamps, where lap times are between 1m45s and 1m50s, depending on fuel load. The flipside of that coin is that if you miscalculate in Austria, there isn’t much time lost before you get another shot at it.
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Key overtaking zones
The obvious ones are Turn 1, Turn 3 and Turn 4. The first of these isn’t really a classic moment, but a move can be made if you get a good exit out of 10 and make the most of the Overtake Zone on the pit straight. Turn 3, at the top of the hill, is the big one, and dives down the inside are frequent at the slow, second-gear right-hander. It’s important to get a good exit, though, as there’s a risk of simply being passed again on the run to Turn 4, either on the straight or in the corner itself. Indeed, due to the electrical energy available in the new cars, we might see a return to yo-yo racing in these two turns this year.
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Strategy watch
The compound choice in Austria is the usual C3-C5 spread, and that means it should be a two-stop race. Last year, McLaren’s Lando Norris won by starting on C4 Mediums, switching to C3 Hards on lap 20, and then running a final stint from lap 52 on another set of Mediums. Mercedes’ George Russell won the 2024 race on a Medium-Medium-Hard strategy, stopping on laps 22 and 46, while Max won the 2023 edition with a Medium-Hard-Medium plan, with stops on laps 24 and 49. If it’s a dry Sunday – and the long-range forecast suggests it will be – don’t expect too much variation from that theme.
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What should fans look out for?
If you’re lucky enough to be at the track, the short answer is everything else that’s happening. The schedule is packed at Red Bull Ring and, as well as F2 and F3, there are countless demos, drift shows, fly-bys and concerts taking place, as well as Sunday’s famous Legends Parade of historic cars and historic drivers! It’s one of the busiest and best programmes of the whole season.
There’s plenty to keep you occupied away from the track as well. Styria is stunningly beautiful and, if you are heading to the race, you should definitely make time on either side of the race weekend to take in some hiking in the Styrian mountains, some culture in the beautiful city of Graz, about an hour away from the track, and some amazing food in pretty much any of the region’s wonderful taverns and restaurants. After all, this is schnitzel country!
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The Team's recent race results
Red Bull Ring
Driver
Grid
Race
2021
Max Verstappen
1
1
Sergio Pérez
3
6
2022
Max Verstappen
1
2
Sergio Pérez
5
DNF
2023
Max Verstappen
1
1
Sergio Pérez
15
3
2024
Max Verstappen
1
5
Sergio Pérez
8
7
2025
Max Verstappen
7
DNF
Yuki Tsunoda
18
16