We always relish a trip to Spielberg. Not only because we’ve a rich history in Austria, but because the Red Bull Ring is one of Formula 1’s most picturesque circuits. Set within the stunning Austrian Alps, surrounded by greenery, on a circuit that’s various elevation changes make it feel like you’re on a leisurely drive through the mountains.

The 4.318km-long circuit is one of the shortest on the calendar, but you’ll not be short of racing, with Austria hosting one of F1’s six Sprint events in 2024. With just one practice session to play with, we’ll need to get you up to speed quicker than normal to ensure you’re primed for Sprint Qualifying on Friday evening.

To help prepare you for this weekend, we’ve recruited Lando, Oscar and Team Principal Andrea Stella for some exclusive insight. We’ve also got a track guide, another F1 Icebreaker and some tips on what to wear.

“I’m excited for the Austrian Grand Prix. It’s a really fun track to drive, and I have some great memories from over the years, so I am looking forward to getting out there. The fans are always enthusiastic and create a great atmosphere.

“The car is in a great spot, we’ll take what we learned from Spain and use it to keep pushing. We’re not focused on setting specific targets, our aim is to keep improving what we do each weekend and we let the results speak for themselves. Let’s see what we can do.”

“I can’t wait to get to Austria and hit the ground running. I’m really looking forward to getting back in the car on Friday and working hard with the engineers to start the weekend on the front foot.

“I was aiming for far more in Barcelona but coming away with points from a frustrating one keeps things ticking over. Credit to the team for the job they are consistently doing and hopefully we can all keep the momentum going.”

“We head to Austria for the second race in a busy triple-header, having left Spain with another strong result for the team. While we’ve had many positive results this season, the Red Bull Ring is one of the shortest circuits on the calendar, so we expect it to be very close this weekend. We remain focused in our efforts to keep improving and consistently fight the top teams around us.”

Track insights

The Red Bull Ring has some similarities to Japan’s Suzuka International Circuit in that it’s a track of two halves. Power and low drag are important in the first half of the circuit, which takes cars uphill via three straights for drivers to accelerate through, separated by just three right-handers.

Cars then head back downhill in the second half of the lap, which features a lot of quick corners in a short space of time and rewards high downforce. Most teams will opt to play to their strengths and the decision of whether to prioritise low drag or high downforce is made based on what naturally suits their cars better.

Unsurprisingly, the best overtaking opportunities come in the three corners in the first half of the lap. Cars can get close during the three straights and battle back and forth at Turns 2, 3, and 4.

The circuit’s mountain-based location and the elevation changes - up to 63.3 metres from the lowest to the highest point – means the weather can be a tad unpredictable, which impacts grip throughout the race and keeps the team on their toes with their strategy choices.

The season so far

Lando came within a whisker of victory in Spain, having earned his second career pole with a superb lap in Qualifying on Saturday. The British racer was frustrated to fall to third on the opening lap, but fought back up to second, which promoted him to second in the Drivers’ Championship for the first time in his career. Lando is the first driver since Kevin Magnussen after Round 1 in 2014 to be as high as second in the standings.

Oscar started from ninth but made up positions during the race and finished in seventh, helping the team to score 25 more valuable points. We remain third in the Constructors’ Championship, 86 points ahead of fourth and 33 off second.

F1 translations: Track warp

F1 is full of specialist slang and complicated jargon that can stump even the most avid of fans, which is why we’ll be explaining common F1 terminology ahead of each grand prix this season. This week, it’s track warp…

In our Monaco Grand Prix briefing several weeks back, we referred to ‘track warp’, and this prompted some questions from fans, with this being among F1’s lesser-used jargon. Track warp is most apparent in Monaco, but is also a factor at the Red Bull Ring.

Track warp is when there are different gradients on the same stretch of circuit, meaning the left side is at a different angle and height to the right-hand side, thus making it look like the track is warped.

This impacts the car’s balance, with the wheels at different angles. This can result in three-wheeling, where one of the tyres does not touch the circuit for a short period - such as at Turn 3 of the Red Bull Ring.

To counteract this, teams won’t make their cars as stiff as they do for other tracks, which allows for some movement and compliance to ensure the tyres stay on the tarmac.

F1 icebreaker

Stuck for conversation with your F1-loving friends? Spark up a discussion with our F1 icebreaker…

Before winning the race in 2001, Coulthard had finished second in the Austrian Grand Prix four years in a row.

The fit: British summertime

There’s a fabulous summer of sport ahead of us, which includes landmark events such as the British Grand Prix, Wimbledon, the European Championships, and the Olympics.

Although only one of those features F1 racing, why restrict your support of McLaren to the British Grand Prix alone? Show your love for McLaren across the board with our new Silverstone range. Our summer t-shirt and hoodie (we are based in the UK, after all) pairing make up the perfect summer fit for all occasions, so you can rep-McLaren at Wimbledon, the Olympics, the European Championships or any other sport you see fit.