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Do you who is the only driver in the current grid to have ever finished on the podium in the Canadian Grand Prix? Do you when the last Austrian Grand Prix was held? Or who has the lap record on the current track? Read on to find out!Circuit: Red Bull Ring, SpielbergCircuit length: 4.326 kmNumber of corners: 9 (2 left, 7 right)DRS zones: 2Race laps: 71Race distance: 307.020 km2014 tyre compounds: Soft, Super SoftCircuit lap record: 1m 08.337 - Michael Schumacher (2003), Ferrari
About the Circuit
Ever since it staged its first Grand Prix in 1963, Austria has seen plenty of venue changes whilst hosting the Grand Prix. Its current circuit, the Red Bull Ring last hosted a Grand Prix in 2003, only then it was called the A1-Ring. The first ever Austrian Grand Prix was held in Zeltweg Airbase in 1963, before a permanent race track was built in its current location Spielberg.
Built in 1969, the track was first called the Österreichring. Although it held its first Grand Prix in 1970, the track was shut down in 1987 due to safety concerns. It was not until 1997, when a fully refurbished track was put on the table that Formula One returned. It was redesigned by the one and only, Hermann Tilke. After its refurbishment, the track lost all of its long, sweeping corners, aside from the Texaco Bends, which were made shorter and slower. Several parts of the old track were removed, and replaced by a bypass that went directly to the second half of the fast, uphill backstretch.
Almost a decade after its last Grand Prix in 2003, Formula One returns to the scenic Austrian countryside, thanks to Red Bull, who purchased the track and renamed it the Red Bull Ring.
Trivia
- There have been 26 Austrian Grand Prix held so far, 18 of which were in Osterreichring, 7 in A1-Ring (now Red Bull Ring) and the inaugural Grand Prix in Zeltweg- In terms of lap distance, the track is the third-shortest of the year after Monaco and Brazil, but in terms of lap time, it's the shortest.- Only seven of the 25 races (28%) held in Spielberg have been won from pole position.- Among the current drivers, only four drivers have ever raced in the Austrian Grand Prix, which was last held in 2003.- Kimi Raikonnen is the only current driver to have finished in the podium at Austrian Grand Prix. It was in 2003, when Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) won and Raikonnen finished second.- In the current field, Jenson Button (4) has made the most appearances on this track, whilst Kimi Raikonnen is second with 3 appearances; Fernando Alonso (2) and Felipe Massa (1) are the only other drivers to have started the Austrian Grand Prix.- Alain Prost holds the record for the most wins all-time on this track with 3, while four drivers Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen, Alan Jones and Ronnie Peterson have won it twice.- Ferrari has the most pole positions on this track (7), but it is Niki Lauda who leads the drivers, with 3 pole positions.- McLaren has the most wins with 6.- The lowest grid position from which a driver has won the race is 14th. Shadow’s Alan Jones achieved that feat in 1977. - Amongst the current field, Raikonnen is the only driver to have led this race.- The last four races have had at least a single safety car appearance.- The inaugural Austrian Grand Prix was won by Jack Brabham in 1963, but the first Grand Prix in Spielberg was won by Jacky Ickx of Ferrari in 1970.- 14 Austrian drivers have started the Austrian Grand Prix and the only Austrian to have won it was Niki Lauda in 1984.- Ferrari have now gone 74 consecutive races in the points, with Alonso recording 10 straight races in the points.
- Nico Rosberg, with 16 consecutive races in the points has the longest such streak in Formula One right now. He also has seven consecutive podium finishes to his name.- Mercedes come into this race on the back of seven consecutive pole positions.- If a Ferrari-powered car wins the race, it’ll be the first Ferrari turbo win since the 1988 Italian Grand Prix.- Kimi Raikkonen will make his 200th Grand Prix start in Austria. Only 13 drivers have started more in a list that is led by Rubens Barrichello with 322.
