AustrianGrand Prix

What You Need To Know

The Austrian Grand Prix will be the 11th race of the 2024 Formula One World championship season, and the third Sprint weekend on the calendar after the Miami and Chinese GPs.

The classic Styrian 4.318km (2.618-mile) circuit also hosted a Sprint weekend during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

We were victorious on the first four visits to Austria between 2014 and 2017, with a further triumph arriving in 2020 with our title-winning W11 car.

A Brief History of the Austrian Grand Prix

The Austrian Grand Prix began with a group of local motor racing enthusiasts in the 1950s who created a circuit in the town of Zeltweg.

Rindt never triumphed at his home race, but Niki Lauda did, claiming victory in Styria in 1984. Turn one at the circuit now bears the name ‘Lauda Curve’. Toto Wolff also has a strong connection with the track, having previously served as a racing instructor.

The track fell into disrepair at the end of the 1980s, but Austrian telecoms company A1 provided the funds to redevelop the venue, bringing Formula One racing back to Austria in 1997.

It would continue to host Grands Prix for the next six years, before again being dropped from the calendar after the 2003 event. The Austrian Grand Prix returned in 2014 and has been a staple the F1 schedule ever since.

Fact File: Austrian Grand Prix

• With just 10 corners, the Ring has the fewest of any track of the current F1 circuits. At the same time, Turns 2, 5 and 8 are taken at full throttle and are therefore not considered to be corners in an engineering sense.

• Unsurprisingly given the nature of the track, we see the fewest amount of gear changes of any lap across the season at just 32.

• There are large demands placed on a car's handling in Austria, whilst at the same time the circuit demands good mechanical grip at low speed (Turns 1, 3, and 4) and strong performance at high speed (Turns 6-7 and 9-10). Engineers have to find the best compromise with set-up in order to achieve the best lap time.

• This weekend sees the second running of the new Sprint weekend format - teams will partake in FP1 on Friday before Qualifying takes place that afternoon. Saturday sees the Sprint Shootout followed by the F1 Sprint, with the Austrian Grand Prix taking place on Sunday.

• The difference in elevation of 69 metres between the lowest and highest points at the circuit is one of the largest of the season. That is unsurprising given the track's location in the Styrian mountains.

• It also has a steep gradient from track edge-to-edge in places, as exemplified by Turns 3 and 4. The circuit here slopes up towards the apex as the car drives over the crest while accelerating out of the corner. This can result in one wheel leaving the ground, causing challenges with braking, stability, and traction.

• The track has three very hard braking zones in succession on the approaches to Turns 1, 3, and 4. As the brakes are unable to cool down sufficiently over the rest of the track, as the lap is relatively short, it has an impact on the maximum pressures and general wear and tear experienced.

• For that reason, teams must apply as much cooling as possible to the brakes. That poses a challenge in warming up the front tyres. With a short out-lap, it is difficult to get them in the right operating window for a qualifying lap.

• The Ring is notorious for its aggressive kerbs and is considered to be one of the toughest tests for vehicle suspension. This especially applies to the kerbs at the exit of T1, T6, and T7, which take a high toll on the cars due to their amplitude (i.e. the gap between the highest and lowest points of the kerbs) and the frequency (speed effect) at which they are taken.