After two rounds in Monaco and Barcelona, Formula 1 will continue its European tour at the Austrian Red Bull Ring, where another double-header weekend will kick off before the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next week.
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| Photo by Mark Sutton |
The Red Bull Ring is located near Spielberg, surrounded by the Alps. However, don't expect calm weather and low temperatures, because temperatures are expected to reach 33°C this weekend, which will be a challenge not only for the drivers but also for the fans who, as always, surround the track and create the unique atmosphere of the whole weekend.
The FIA has even declared a heat hazard for the Austrian Grand Prix, which means that drivers have two options: either wear a cooling vest during the race or choose not to wear one and add an extra 0.5 kg to their car.
"In accordance with Article B1.5.10 of the FIA F1 Regulations, having received a forecast from the official weather service predicting that the heat index will be greater than 31.0°C at some time during the race at this competition, a Heat Hazard is declared," the FIA stated.
Also, the Red Bull Ring is known for its short length of 4.326 km. Therefore, the circuit has only 10 corners, the fewest on the entire Formula 1 calendar. An interesting fact is that the whole circuit has only two left-hand corners, both located in the middle sector.
Despite the heavy braking zones, especially into Turns 3 and 4, tyre degradation is not expected to be the decisive factor. Pirelli will bring the C3, C4 and C5 compounds to Austria, which are the softest tyres in the range. However, we can still expect teams to opt for a one-stop strategy.
What we are most looking forward to is Ferrari's ADUO (Additional Development Upgrade Opportunities) engine upgrade. However, the upgrade package planned for this weekend is expected to bring only small gains in lap time. The team is convinced that this is a crucial step forward for future upgrades. It is also expected that Shell, Ferrari's fuel partner, will introduce new fuel adjustments that should put the Italian team in a stronger position to fight at the front.
Enrico Gualtieri, Ferrari’s power unit Technical Director said:
“The entire team at the factory is now working relentlessly to make the most of the additional opportunities provided by the ADUO mechanism, in full alignment with our intended development roadmap.
“The update we are bringing to Spielberg is a relatively minor one and it’s the result of the work completed in recent weeks to transfer improvements from our development programme to the track."
But the Italian team is not the only one bringing technical upgrades to this weekend, as McLaren will test its experimental upside-down rear wing, similar to those used by Ferrari and Red Bull, during Friday's practice sessions.
The engineers at Mercedes and Red Bull are not sleeping either, and neither is the technical war in Formula 1. Both teams will also bring several upgrades to Austria.
We must consider Mercedes the favourite for this weekend, but nothing is guaranteed in Formula 1, especially this season. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how effective the upgrades introduced by the other teams will be.
The whole weekend will kick off on Friday with two free practice sessions.