Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix 2022 - Autoracing Preview

Practice and Race Schedule
Friday, July 08, 2022
Free Practice 1 08:30 - 09:30
(Qualifying - 12:00 - 13
:00
(
Saturday, July 09, 2022Free

Practice


2 07:30 - 08


:30


(
Short Race 11:30 - 12



:30 (




Sunday, July 10, 2022Race
- 10:00 (

Red Bull Ring - Spielberg, Austria
For the second time this season we will have a sprint race to decide the grid for Sunday in Austria.

It's a totally different weekend than the traditional Formula One, with qualifying on Friday afternoon after a single practice session (TL1), which will set the starting grid for the 100km sprint race on Saturday to decide the grid for Sunday's GP. For the historical records, the pole-position will be the fastest in Friday's qualifying practice (who will also start on pole for Saturday's short race), but the one who will start on pole for Sunday's GP will be the winner of Saturday's short qualifying race.

The track design now called the Red Bull Ring (Österreichring from 1970 to 1987 and A1-Ring from 1997 to 2003) has remained unchanged for F1 since 2003. In 2002, the race made headlines around the world when Ferrari kept repeating on the radio the order for leader Barrichello to hand the victory to Schumacher, which the Brazilian did a few meters from the finish line.

The Austrian Grand Prix was first held in 1964 at the airfield called Zeltweg Airfield, with the magnificent Österreichring circuit becoming its permanent home from 1970 on. Some of the many memorable moments were when Vittorio Brambilla crossed the line to win in 1975 and when Elio de Angelis beat Keke Rosberg by just 0.050s in 1982.

But in the late 1980s its high curves with minimal escape areas were considered too dangerous for F1. The circuit only returned after the track was modernized and shortened by Hermann Tilke. Seven races were held between 1997 and 2003.

The track has two similarities with Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. Fuel consumption is critical, although manageable. And brake wear is high, but the four long straights will help with cooling and high top speeds will once again be crucial to success. The car needs a neutral setup because of the high speed it comes in on the straights to make cornering type turns most of the time. If the car is front or rear, the tire wear is high.

Another important point is UP. At 700 meters above sea level, the air is thinner and the engine loses some power that the turbine cannot recover due to the fuel flow. After a certain point, the turbine turns more than the fuel flow allows, which generates friction and raises the temperature without generating more power.

This altitude in relation to sea level also harms the downforce of the cars, which need more aerodynamic p0ression than if the track were at sea level. This downforce can come from the body of the car and this year from the ground effect. The Red Bull car, which was already a car that adapted very well to this track without ground effect, this year everything leads to believe that it will adapt even better.

One of the trickiest aspects of the circuit is its short length, which makes life very difficult for the Energy Recovery system. As a general rule, the shorter the track is, the more intense the energy recovery and its application has to be. You can recover 2 mj of energy per lap and you can apply 4 mj, but when there are fewer opportunities to recover that energy, it becomes more difficult to keep the systems in harmony - be it the batteries, the electric motors in the turbo, and the MGU-K.

Since 2019 year a new DRS zone has been put in place to facilitate wheel-to-wheel contests.

Check out the available tire compounds:

Braking for Turn 1

Red Bull Ring

Latest results in Austria

*Fastest lap
Weather Forecast for Spielberg
Friday
Low of 11º and maximum of 19º.

Saturday
A low of 12º and a high of 22º.

Sunday
Lows of 11 degrees and highs of 20 degrees

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Onboard pole position of Max Verstappen in 2021