F1 is off to the Styrian mountains for the 11th round of a scintillating 2022 season at the forthcoming Austrian GP.
The Spielberg Circuit is Red Bull’s stomping ground but has existed for decades before the team from Milton Keynes was formed.
The original Österreichring was built in 1969 as a replacement for the Zeltweg airfield circuit. The track, known today as the Red Bull Ring, was made towards the end of 1995 and the start of 1996, when legendary F1 track designer Hermann Tilke was tasked with turning the Österreichring into a shorter, more modern race track.
It is currently one of the shortest tracks on the calendar, only ahead of the Circuit de Monaco, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico, and the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Brazil.
A total of 34 F1 Austrian Grands Prix have been held since 1964. Sir Jackie Stewart famously won his second F1 World Drivers’ Championship title at the venue back in 1971. The Red Bull Ring has hosted 17 of the aforementioned 34 Grands Prix starting in 1997 , in which Canadian world champion Jacques Villeneuve claimed the win.
Max Verstappen has the most wins for any driver at the venue with four, while Mercedes has the most wins as constructors with a tally of six.
The Venue
Location: Red Bull Ring, Styrian Mountains, Austria
Type: Regular engine racing circuit
CircuitLength: 4,318 km (2,683 mi)
First race hero: 1970 (Austria Ring)
Red Bull hoping for a warmer welcome during 2022 F1 Austrian GP after Max Verstappen was booed at Silverstone
Red Bull boss Christian Horner is admittedly hoping that the reception at the 2022 F1 Austrian GP will be warmer for his team after Max Verstappen was given the proverbial cold shoulder by fans at Silverstone during the 2022 F1 British GP.
Verstappen was on the receiving end of incessant jeers from the maximum capacity British crowd in Northamptonshire, mainly due to their allegiance to his biggest rival, seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
The Dutchman claimed not to be perturbed by the behavior of the fans. Speaking in an interview after qualifying for the event, he said:
“If they want to boo, they do that. I’m always happy to be here, it’s a great track, a great atmosphere in general. Maybe some of them don’t like me, that’s fine, they all have their own opinions. I do not care.”
Heading towards Red Bull’s home turf in Austria, Horner is hoping for better. In an interview after the race in England, the 48-year-old said:
“We’ll maybe get a warmer reception there than here.”
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Max Verstappen does not want Dutch fans to boo Lewis Hamilton when the action gets underway in Austria. Speaking to Dutch publication De Telegraaf, the 24-year-old said:
“They don’t have to do that for me. It’s not like it gives me extra power or anything like that.”
Heading into the second Sprint weekend of the season, Max Verstappen leads the World Drivers’ Championship standings with 181 points while teammate Sergio Perez is in P2 with 147 points.
