Race Week in Austria
FORMULA 1 QATAR AIRWAYS AUSTRIAN GRAND PRIX 2024
It's race week in Austria.
F1 stops at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. This weekend will follow the Sprint race weekend format, which includes:
Friday: 60-minute Free Practice session/ Sprint Qualifying.
Saturday: Sprint / Qualifying (for the Grand Prix).
Sunday: 2024 Austrian Grand Prix
Austrian GP History: The Austrian Grand Prix has been held in two locations in southeastern Austria. In 1963, the Race was held at the Zeltweg Air Base for six years before moving to a permanent track. Since 1969, the Race has been held in Spielberg, only about 4 km (2.5 miles) from Zeltweg. This track was initially called the Österreichring and was later renamed the A-1 Ring and then the Red Bull Ring.
About the Track: The Red Bull Ring is a formal motorsport race track in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix from 1970 to 1987. It was later shortened, rebuilt, and renamed the A1-Ring, and it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from 1997 to 2003. As Formula One began to outgrow the circuit, a plan was drawn to extend the layout. Red Bull's Dietrich Mateschitz purchased it and rebuilt it. The track was renamed the Red Bull Ring and reopened in May 2011.
Weekend Highlights:
The Constructors & Drivers Championship is still up in the air. Red Bull extended its lead over Ferrari by 60 points, 11 more than last weekend's gap. McLaren shortened the gap to Ferrari to 33 points, seven less than last week.
Red Bull's triumph is a testament to Max Verstappen's speed. Max, in his signature style, started the Race from the second grid spot and clinched the top step of the podium, marking his 61st F1 Race win. Sergio Perez, after two disappointing races, made a strong comeback, securing an eighth-place finish. While it's a step in the right direction, Sergio's inability to compete for podiums could potentially impact Red Bull's standing in the constructors championship.
McLaren is continuing the fight—another excellent weekend for McLaren. Lando started on the pole and finished second for his sixth consecutive podium in 2024. Lando is having a great season, and McLaren is cruising. Oscar Piastri is due for a breakout race and his second podium 2024.
Mercedes took a step forward. After back-to-back third and fourth-place finishes, Mercedes has taken a step forward in pace. Expect the Silver Arrows to be highly competitive at the Red Bull Ring.
Ferrari is still a bit off track. It was a better weekend than Canada; Spain was okay for Ferrari, but if they want to compete with Red Bull for the constructors championship, Ferrari needs to be on the podium every Race. Ferrari qualified and finished in 5th and 6th place in Spain. It was a solid points haul for Ferrari, but there was room for improvement.
Alpine bounces back. Off a huge double-point finish in Montreal, Alpine answered again in Spain with a 9th and 10th place double points finish for the team. Things are looking up at Alpine. Alpine had a successful weekend at the 2023 Austrian GP with a sprint and main race points finish for the team. Expect Alpine to be right in the middle of the points fight in Austria.
VCARB keeps going. After a positive weekend in Canada, Spain was not a great showing for the VCARB team. Both cars were off the pace. Yuki and Daniel have been strong in qualifying this season, but both were knocked out in Q1. I expect a bounce-back weekend for VCARB.
It's not bad, but it's not great for Haas. Nico Hulkenberg just missed out on points in Spain. Haas is currently on a five-race points drought, and they will be looking to break that. With the sprint race format, Haas will have two chances to add some points in Austria.
Williams took steps backward. Ouch! is an excellent word to describe Williams's last two race weekends—a double DNF in Canada and the lowest combined finish for both cars in Spain. Williams was massively off-pace and out of contention at Catalunya. Williams needs a solid team finish ASAP.
What team is in the hot seat the most? Stake F1 still needs to score a point. With glimpses of hope during the season, Stake has yet to capitalize and score a much-needed point.
