f1 race – The Fastest Sector

What to Expect from the Austrian Grand Prix

Circuit Facts

4.3km circuit
Race consists of 71 laps
Total distance of 306.452km
Sprint consists of 23 laps
Distance of 99.314km

When can I watch the Austrian GP?

Friday

Practice 1 – 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Sprint Quali – 3:30 pm – 4:15 pm

Saturday

Sprint – 11 am – 12 pm

Quali – 3 pm – 4 pm

Sunday

Race – 2 pm

We expect a strong McLaren challenge at the Red Bull Ring. The team from Woking have closed the gap to Red Bull considerably, and have arguably the fastest car on the grid – Lando Norris is the only driver to be placed within the points in every race in the 2024 season (Grand Prix only).

Max Verstappen and Red Bull will be wary of Mercedes as well, who produced a very strong performance, with Hamilton grabbing the last spot on the podium and Russell taking P4 at the Spanish GP.

Ferrari’s performance was below par at Sainz’s home race, with both drivers out in Q2 of qualifying and both drivers unhappy with each other after the race. However, Frederic Vasseur has a hopeful outlook heading into Austria and will aim to catch up to their rivals.

Track History

This track has been on the calendar since 1964, but there was a gap between 2004 to 2013, when the circuit was taken off the calendar for a couple of years.

Famously called the Red Bull Ring, this circuit is a fan favourite for both Red Bull supporters and Visa CashApp RB fans. Let’s hope Danny Ric and Yuki Tsunoda score some points around this track after the weekend they had in Barcelona.

Max Verstappen is a four time winner around here, taking victory in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2023. Lewis Hamilton has won the Austrian GP twice in 2016 and 2020.

Who will add to the tally this weekend?

Written by Frankie.

Flashback Friday: Korean Chaos – 2010 Korean GP

Following the historic 2009 F1 season, the turn of the decades forthwith hoped to replicate the excitement of the seasons that preceded it.

The 2010 season saw many stories unfold from the return of the sport’s hero Michael Schumacher, to the on-track excitement that saw 5 different winners through the first 7 races, these stories all leading the season’s climax in South Korea.

5.5 hours downwind from Seoul, a battle for the most coveted title in motorsport was being shaped up between a young hot shot matador from Germany and a seasoned champion from Spain piloting the worlds most expensive show pony. With only three races to go in the season it was coming down to the wire and the stage was being set for a weekend of pure thrill, it was the 2010 Korean Grand Prix

Source: commons.m.wikimedia.org

Sebastian Vettel would take the first battle of the weekend by taking pole from his teammate Mark Webber, while title rival Alonso would set a lap only good enough for the second row.

With the grid set and the title fight being separated by only one grid position, it would all come down to Sunday, and it would deliver.

As the sun set on Saturday, the rain began for Sunday. Monsoon-like conditions would cause the race start to be delayed until the decision to start the race under a safety car. After just three laps in these conditions, it would be red flagged until the rain eased.

Source: Autoblog.com

The race would eventually begin with Vettel pulling away in the lead ahead of Webber who would go off and take out an unsuspecting Rosberg causing another safety car, but more importantly it would place Vettel and Alonso next to each other on the restart.

Vettel would continue to lead through several other safety cars until light levels at the track would lead to a steep performance drop for his Red Bull leading to his eventual retirement with only 10 laps left in the race.

With Vettel retiring, Alonso would take the lead meaning as long as he finished, he would leave South Korea with the championship lead. Alonso would coast to the race win with Hamilton and Massa closing out the podium.

Source: VeloceToday.com

Following Alonso crossing the line, the race would conclude with a final total race time of 2 hours and 48 minutes making it over an hour longer than any other race that season.

While the overall legacy of the Korean GP is one of disappointment, 2010 was a true spectacle in how everything can go wrong but still somehow make for an entertaining and successful race.

Hope you enjoyed that installation of Flashback Friday! Let us know in the comments what race you’d like to see next in the series.