Is Austria F1's most beautiful track? Plus, Norris leads early at the Red Bull Ring
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Welcome back to Prime Tire, where today we're going to celebrate something wonderful in Formula One.
I'm Alex, and Luke Smith will be along later.
The hills are alive with the sounds of Styria.
F1 sounds, in fact, as the current V6 hybrid engines make their final appearance at this glorious track. The deeper, flatter engine notes the current cars produce compared to previous eras may not be one of every F1 fan's favorite things, but the sights of the Austrian Grand Prix venue are surely up there.
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There's just something great about the Red Bull Ring, or the Österreichring, as it was, or even the A1-Ring for F1 fans of the 1990s and early 2000s. It mainly comes down to the track's stunning location in central Stryia, where the undulating topography has the drivers feeling like they're climbing (and descending) a mountain every lap.
Ringed by proper peaks, here fans can see the cars at multiple places around the track from just a single vantage point. It's a stunning location for a race track. Now then, all together…
🎶 Doe — deer have made famous appearances at this place (nearly tragically for Stefan Johansson in 1987 and more amusingly for Juan Pablo Montoya in 2001).
🎶 Ray — the track gets plenty of golden sun during the summer months, but the altitude can have rain coming down thunderously very quickly.
🎶 Me — I've been twice, to cover Formula Two in 2017 when Charles Leclerc ran riot for Prema Racing and again in 2023, when Max Verstappen did likewise for the home F1 team.
🎶 Fa-r — over 120 miles from the Austrian capital Vienna, to be precise. But it's a lovely drive down the Autobahn, in and out of many mountain-hewn tunnels.
🎶 Sew — I guess those lederhosen outfits Red Bull and Mercedes wheel out fairly regularly here?
🎶 La — the vociferous voices of Verstappen's orange army, which camps out en masse every year at the Red Bull Ring.
🎶 Tea — no, really just Red Bull here, and Madeline Coleman tells me iced gummy bear flavor is on offer this year.
🎶Do-n't worry, I won't break out into full 'Edelweiss,' and it must be noted here that there have been several high-profile negative incidents at this track even in recent years.
The 2022 Austrian GP, for example, was marred by appalling harassment of female fans, as well as instances of homophobic and racist slurs being hurled from some out-of-control 'fans'. F1 issued a statement, but all-around good egg Sebastian Vettel said something that was actually worth listening to.
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'There should be zero tolerance,' said the then Aston Martin driver. 'If people have a good time and drink too much, that's OK, but it doesn't justify or excuse wrong behavior.'
But at least the setting for the Austrian GP is magical, and the racing tends to back that up.
Think Michael Schumacher versus Montoya here in 2001, Schumacher versus everyone and briefly on fire in 2003, and Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg colliding on the last lap in 2016. Or Verstappen's thrilling battle with Leclerc in 2019, and of course, that Lando Norris clash for the Dutchman in 2024.
Did you also know that Mercedes boss Toto Wolff, who hails from Vienna, also worked here as a driving instructor in the mid-1990s?
'I was working for a racing school and I was living in the farmhouse,' Wolff explained in Friday's team principals' FIA news conference in Austria.
'There were lovely people — egg and bread in the morning, a glass of milk. And then I was teaching people to drive Formula Ford cars around the old Österreichring. The highlight of the day was shaking those cars down in the evening and making them ready for the next day.'
This place just seems to breed stories, so over to Luke to reveal the lovely view they tend to get written alongside in Austria.
I am writing today's Inside the Paddock from the media center at the Red Bull Ring, which offers what is unquestionably the best view of the season from our 'offices' for any F1 weekend.
The incredible glass structure alongside the main straight has the media center at the very top, offering views of the majority of the circuit. I've got Turn 1 right ahead of me, Turn 3 to my right in the distance, plus the left-handers of Turn 6 and 7. It's hard when the race is ongoing to keep an eye on the screens in the media center and not watch the actual cars out on the track!
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It's a funny thing to explain to reporters in other sports, often watching in stadiums that offer a total view of an entire field. It's actually quite rare for us to get any kind of view of the track in F1 media centers nowadays (some don't even have windows!), so we're making the most of it this weekend.
The only tiny drawback is we're not actually inside the paddock — the title of this section is a lie! — meaning it requires taking an elevator down the back of the track's main grandstand and then walking through a tunnel under the main straight to get up to the paddock for interviews and chats with sources. But, overall, this has to be one of the best facilities of the season.
Oh, and to Alex's point about the beauty of this race, I've been loving the drive to and from the track each day through the mountains. Way to go, Austria. Swapping you for Milton Keynes next week, where we're staying for the British GP, will bring me rather back down to earth…
Here are the main takeaways from today's on-track action in Austria:
Final practice in Austria takes place at 7:30 p.m. ET and 11:30 a.m. UK on Saturday, with qualifying to follow at 11 a.m. ET and 3 p.m. UK. Follow it all with us.
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