Offering stunning views of the Austrian landscape, the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg may be one of the most picturesque circuits in F1® - but don’t let the good looks fool you. Spielberg offers plenty of challenges to drivers and Team Principals, with a speedy start and an exhilarating battle to the finish line.
Leclerc is currently in P1, but Verstappen is seconds behind and hungry for the win at Red Bull’s home circuit. Sainz is in P3, fighting for positions but with 15 seconds of penalties hanging over him. Ferrari could have a momentous result, but it’s going to take incredible racecraft, and a perfect pit stop strategy.
Suggested car setup for the Red Bull Ring:
- High-speed cornering is crucial
- Focusing on top speed and DRS is also recommended
- Balanced circuit
Your approach to Spielberg will be significantly impacted by where you place in qualifying, as the long pit stop, short lap and changing weather can punish indecisive strategy.
- It takes nearly 30 seconds to stop at Spielberg, almost half the time to lap, so most teams will aim for a single pit stop across the whole circuit.
- A safety car will likely appear, so starting on hard tyres lets you wait for a yellow flag before pit stopping in the race's final stage.
- Be wary of wearing down your tyres with aggressive driving; making an additional pit stop at Spielberg is one of the biggest risks of the race.