The Sprint Race returns with the Austrian Grand Prix (here the complete program). The weekend of Red Bull Ring, eleventh round of the 2024 world championship, it will be the third of six events with the "fast format". Spielberg it is the second stage of a triple headers which will end in the first weekend of July with the British Grand Prix held at Silverstone.
Zeltweg is a very particular route given the altitudes which are around 700 meters above sea level and the short length of the asphalt ribbon which is reflected in a low number of curves. The current configuration consists of ten folds for an extension of 4318 meters.
After the Spanish GP in which Max Verstappen's Red Bull prevailed and perhaps was not the first car in terms of technical caliber given that the McLaren MCL 38, especially in free air, had demonstrated that it had a more consistent pace (about a tenth and a half better, ed) which was not enough to make up the deficit that Lando Norris had accumulated after a terrible start that had forced him for a long time behind George Russell's Mercedes W15.
Ferrari, after an encore of disappointing races, must and wants to respond. Red Bull wants to do well at home, McLaren intends to capitalize on the advantage expressed in recent times but never put to good use due to venial errors. And Mercedes wants to understand if she is really healed. These are the hot topics of the Austrian weekend.
Austrian GP 2024: F1 at the Red Bull Ring challenge
As anticipated, the Circus moves to the shortest track in the world championship. Which generally produces small gaps. The performance closeness seen in recent times should therefore be exacerbated. To the benefit of the action. To keep an eye on track position especially in qualifying to avoid frustrating the potential of the cars with laps contaminated by traffic.
Going into the track in detail, we observe that turns 1, 3 and 4, which are slow to travel, favor single-seaters that show good traction and the ability to generate aerodynamic load. This is because the aforementioned folds have a banking negative. This prerogative tends to generate understeer which needs to be managed more at a suspension level than an aerodynamic one.
Different story for the last four corners which are taken at high speed: they exceed 200 km/h. Here, clearly, the aerodynamic element that rewards efficient cars comes into play.
There is no shortage of extensions at Zeltweg, which requires a set-up that is not too loaded to avoid being penalized in top speed. An aerodynamic compromise that tends to reward cars that generate good grip mechanical. What is missing, however, are large-radius curves that are driven for a long time. A track, in terms of characteristics, more similar to Canada than to Montmelò or Silverstone, so to speak.
![Spanish GP strategies](https://www.formulacritica.it/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Pirelli-3-jpg.webp)
Traction is the necessary virtue on a track that remains rear limited. Pirelli, for the occasion, will bring the set softer than the 2024 range: C3, C4 and C5. We do not expect great lateral stress as emerged in Barcelona; in this circumstance it will be above all the rear axle that will be stressed due to the "start and stop" nature of the track.
As always, it will be crucial to define the correct thermal window for the tires on a weekend which could feature relatively low temperatures and a fair threat of rain on Sunday, even if it is too early to define a precise meteorological picture. For this reason, we refer you to the usual Thursday article to understand what conditions the pilots will face.
Crediti foto: F1, Scuderia Ferrari