F1 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 11 28-30 June 2024 Red Bull Ring
THE MAIN EVENT
For the third time, the Red Bull Ring will host a sprint race in addition to the main grand prix on Sunday. And each time it’ll have been under a slightly different regime since the sprint rules have changed four times in as many years since the format was introduced. While the drivers are moaning about the effects of the latest intervention – plus ça change – on the flow of the race weekend, there’s no doubt the sprint is an effective gimmick on this short, frenetic circuit.
In its first incarnation the track, then known as the Osterreichring, was longer, faster and rather more dangerous. The greedy local landowners who forced it to shrink in redevelopment ended up doing current owners Red Bull a favour, since races here now are generally full of incident – generally with harmless results.
2023 RACE RECAP
Austria always attracts a huge contingent of Dutch fans and the Orange Army was duly delighted to watch Max Verstappen win both the sprint and the main event from pole position, leading home team-mate Sergio Pérez in the shorter race and heading home Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc by five seconds on Sunday.
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of this weekend, though, was the impact of the first phase of McLaren’s car upgrades. Lando Norris received the first tranche here and came home fourth in the grand prix – a remarkable turnaround for a team which had been welded to the back of the grid in the opening rounds.
KEY CORNER: TURN
