Red Bull’s home race and the struggle for its own existence across the years. This is the Austrian Red Bull Ring

Austria’s Red Bull Ring is a well-known destination for Formula 1. The Grand Prix was first held here more than half a century ago. Since then it has offered some great experiences, only one Austrian winner and survived a fight for its own life. And the Austrian track may have to duel with F1 once again to stay on the calendar.

The circuit opened in 1969 and hosted its first F1 race just a year later. The Österreichring was longer than the current circuit, but despite containing two more corners, the average speed was over 250 kilometres per hour. The Österreichring was 5,942 metres long and the lap time was around one minute and twenty-five seconds.

The current Red Bull Ring is one of the shorter circuits in the F1 series. It currently has a lap length of 4,318 metres and only ten corners. That’s also why the times between the two crossing the finish line are just over a minute. The current track record for the race is held by Carlos Sainz at 1:05.619.

The track in Austria has also experienced one crisis period. After a rebuild in 1996, seven F1 Grands Prix were raced, but the grandstands were subsequently demolished and it was debated whether the circuit’s owner, Red Bull, would be willing to invest in rebuilding the Red Bull Ring.

It was two years from 2004 before there was talk of a new team in the queen of motorsport, Red Bull Racing, making the circuit in Styria a test venue.

F1 returned in 2014 after a track renovation that cost seventy million euros. And they’re still racing there today. But the question is how much longer the series will continue. The circuit’s contract expires in 2022 and has not yet been renewed. The Czechs and Slovaks could lose a nearby formula destination.

The Austrian Grand Prix is Red Bull’s home race, despite the team being based in the UK. It is in the Styrian mountains that the Christian Horner-run stable has been doing exceedingly well of late. Of the four races here since 2018, Red Bull has won three times, with all wins going to Dutchman Max Verstappen.

The most successful team in history in Austria is McLaren, which has won a total of six F1 races here. The queens of motorsport, Ferrari and Mercedes, have one less win each. Red Bull is also pushing up the leaderboard thanks to Max Verstappen.

Only once in history has the Austrian VC been won by a home driver. In 1984, it was the legendary Niki Lauda in a McLaren. That year, Lauda won his third and final world championship.

The Austrian Grand Prix is a traditional destination for Czech and Slovak fans. Thanks to its proximity and very good views of the track, the Red Bull Ring offers ideal conditions for spectators from the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

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