Austrian GP, contesto storico – It is the 1987 F1 world championship. After 9 Grands Prix, at the top of the rankings we find the Williams of Brazilian Nelson Piquet and Englishman Nigel Mansell. The two-time world champion Piquet, with only 2 victories, but with five second places, keeps his teammate Nigel Mansell at a distance of 18 points.
Al Gran Premio di Ungheria, il pilota brasiliano della Lotus, Ayrton Senna, annuncia l’addio alla storica scuderia inglese per approdare, nel 1988, in un’altra scuderia britannica, la McLaren, dove affiancherà il due volte campione del mondo Alain Prost. Sembra che sia stato proprio quest’ultimo a consigliare alla McLaren di ingaggiare il talento brasiliano. Fu il primo atto di una rivalità che elevò la F1 ai livelli della cultura pop.
Gp Austria 1987 – Il circuito: l’”Österreichring”
The Österreichring, now known as the “Red Bull Ring”, hosted the Austrian F1 Grands Prix from 1970 to 1987. Built in a natural basin (from the hills you can admire the entire circuit), it has undergone many changes over the years. It was initially 5,911 km long with 16 corners and was one of the fastest and most dangerous tracks in the Formula 1 world championship.
In 1977, a chicane, the “Hella-Licht”, was added to the circuit shortly after the finish straight, increasing the length by 30 meters to 5.941 km and increasing the number of turns from 16 to 18.
The 1987 Austrian Grand Prix
The Austrian Grand Prix opens immediately with the scary accident of the Swedish McLaren driver, Stefan Johansson. While he was traveling along the road at full speed, a deer, coming from the woods close to the track, invaded the track. The Swedish driver couldn't avoid it and hit him. The suspension of his car broke and he hit the barriers. For Johansson, fortunately, only a broken rib.
At the end of qualifying, the two Williams cars of Piquet and Mansell dominated the front row with the Ferrari of the home hero, Gerhard Berger, third.
On the Sunday of the race, dangerous accidents occur, all when the traffic lights go out. At the first start, Martin Brundle's Zakspeed hits the barriers. In the chaos unleashed by the Brundle accident, the two Tyrrells of Jonathan Palmer and Philippe Streiff collide, also involving the Ligier of Piercarlo Ghinzani. The race direction displays the first red flag to allow the stewards to remove the damaged cars and make the track safe.
The most serious accident occurs on the second restart. Ferrari driver Berger hesitated start in an attempt to pass Mansell's Williams, thus triggering a chain accident. Eddie Cheever's Arrows, in an attempt to avoid the Austrian's Ferrari, collided with Patrese's Brabham, which in turn was rear-ended by Johansson's McLaren. Brundle's Zakspeed and Palmer's Tyrrell are then added to the accident.
Other drivers fail to avoid the chaos, so Ghinzani, Alex Caffi, Ivan Capelli, Philippe Alliot, Christian Danner, Philippe Streiff and Pascal Fabre are involved in the accident. The race direction issued a second red flag. However, all the cars involved in the accident were able to take part in the third restart.
At the third restart there were only a few small hiccups, but the race will finally get underway. The victory goes to the Williams of Englishman Nigel Mansell, the fourth in the championship, his eleventh in his career, with teammate Piquet behind him. Third was the Italian from Benetton, Teo Fabi. The two Williams lapped all the cars that reached the finish line.
It was the first Grand Prix with two red flags. His record lasted until the 2023 Australian Grand Prix, where there were three red flags.
Gp Austria 1987 – Conseguenze
The 1987 Austrian Grand Prix was the last Grand Prix to be held at the “Österreichring” in that configuration, which had further highlighted the safety problems of the Austrian track, and was abandoned by F1 for 10 years.
F1 returned to the Austrian track in 1997 in a new version designed by German architect Hermann Tilke which modeled the previous one, but shortened it, brought forward the first corner and connected the upper part of the track with a long link road.
The new “Österreichring”, renamed “A1-Ring” for sponsor reasons, was reduced by 1,623 km bringing it to the current 4,318 km with 10 corners: 7 on the right and 3 on the left.
After the 2003 Austrian Grand Prix, F1 abandoned the A1-Ring. In 2004, Red Bull purchased the Austrian track. After numerous vicissitudes, the circuit remained in a state of abandonment.
The first modernization works began in 2008 and were completed in 2010 and it was inaugurated on May 15th. The FIA approved the track as Grade 1, a level that allows it to host F1.
From 2014 to today it has hosted F1. In 2020 it opened the world championship with two Grands Prix: that of Austria and that of Styria, the geographical region where the track is located. In 2021, it again hosted the two Grands Prix mentioned above. In 2023, the renewal of the contract to host F1 until 2030 was announced.
Crediti foto: F1