Austrian Grand Prix

The shortest lap on the calendar

Built into a hill in Styria. The track was originally the Österreichring (1969-1987), shortened in 1995 as the A1-Ring, then bought and refurbished by Red Bull’s Dietrich Mateschitz in 2011. It’s the shortest-by-time lap of the season — qualifying laps regularly under 65 seconds.

Why it matters

The race was a fixture for the Austrian (and now Red Bull-branded) season, and is currently held twice a year sometimes (depending on calendar pressures). Three big braking zones make it a strong overtaking circuit; the short lap means it sees more lap-traffic than almost anywhere else.

What to watch for

• Turn 3 — heavy uphill braking, the main overtaking zone.
• The exit of Turn 6 — drivers love to push past track limits here; expect deleted laps in qualifying.
• The grandstands of orange — Verstappen’s Dutch Orange Army descends on Spielberg in numbers larger than the stadium capacity.