Austria

The Red Bull Ring sits in a natural bowl in the Styrian mountains near Spielberg. At 4.326 km it is one of the shortest laps on the calendar, with only 10 corners, three straights and a great deal of climbing: the circuit quotes a 65 m elevation range, with gradients of up to about 12% uphill and 9.3% downhill. Formula 1's own circuit guide describes the opening as three straights separated by a pair of uphill right-handers, after which the lap turns downhill through a run of quick corners.

The short lap and long straights mean cars are often close together, so slipstreaming and a good exit from the previous corner decide most overtaking. Turn 1 was renamed the Niki Lauda Turn in 2019 and Turn 9 is the Jochen Rindt right-hander, both named for Austrian champions. A single mistake in qualifying can cost several places because the lap times are so tightly packed.

Grand Prix racing arrived in Styria in 1970, when the Österreichring hosted its first Austrian Grand Prix, won by Jacky Ickx for Ferrari. The race ran there until 1987 and produced winners such as Vittorio Brambilla, who won the rain-shortened 1975 race, and Alain Prost, who won three times in the 1980s. After safety concerns the track was shortened and rebuilt as the A1-Ring, which held the race from 1997 to 2003. Its final years included the 2002 finish in which Rubens Barrichello slowed at the line to hand Michael Schumacher the win under Ferrari team orders.

Red Bull reopened the redeveloped circuit on 15 May 2011 and Formula 1 returned in 2014, initially with Nico Rosberg and Mercedes winning back to back. The pandemic then produced two race weekends in a row at the same track: in 2020 the Austrian Grand Prix went to Valtteri Bottas and the Styrian Grand Prix a week later to Lewis Hamilton, and in 2021 Max Verstappen won both the Styrian and Austrian races.

The circuit now measures 4.326 km (previously 4.318 km). Lando Norris won in 2025, giving McLaren its first Austrian victory since David Coulthard in 2001. In 2026 George Russell converted pole position into a win for Mercedes.