The Red Bull Ring used to be known as the A1 Ring and before that the Osterreichring. In the heart of the Styrian mountains, over half this area consists of mountains and forest, a real treat for nature lovers who come to watch this round of the Formula 1 World Championship. The Spielberg track is 4.3 kilometres in length and requires teams to work hard to find the right compromise when it comes to car set-up.
Generally, cars run a medium to high downforce here, while the engines come in for a hard time, as the Red Bull Ring is 677 metres above sea level, so the air is rarified.
This also affects brake cooling: there are four heavy braking points and not much distance between corners in which to cool the braking system. Therefore keeping the discs and calipers at the correct temperature is vital to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
The most demanding corner of the entire Spielberg track is turn 2: cars approach at around 305 km/h and have to slow to 67 km/h in just 125 metres, or 2.8 seconds if you prefer. The biggest unknown quantity at Austria’s Red Bull Ring is as ever, the weather, because conditions can change repeatedly in this part of the world. Being able to react quickly when it comes to strategy will be vitally important.
Join us for the latest updates and results from the Red Bull Ring, as the first practice session for the 2019 Austrian Grand Prix is about to get underway, with Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc at the wheel of the SF90, ready to evaluate the ideal set-up ahead of the qualifying session and the race on Sunday.
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