Formula 1 Circuit, Spielberg, Austria

Advantages: An excellent race...
Disadvantages: ...spoiled by Ferrari

...of the way through the Formula One season. Despite this relatively small passage through the year, nearly all of the teams have written off their chances after another dominant victory at the hands of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari at the last GP in Spain. It’s now his forth win in five races, and few seem to be able to match him, other than possibly Rubens Barrichello who has given the German a close run in qualifying in the past two races, ...
...now we cross to Austria, the only track on the F1 calendar yet to be won by Herr Schumacher – a tradition he is eager to dispell this weekend, and his form, few can bet against him. SUMMARY OF LAST YEARS RACE Not much didn’t happen in last year’s race. Thwarted by his rivals, there were some unlikely faces battling in the top six. On a track where there is no testing, things are evenly matched and it showed with the Montoya/Schumacher ... Read review

Advantages: Racing in the Austrian Alps
Disadvantages: Beware if wet

I´m sure that there will be many mothers who couldn´t care less about F1 racing but this is the advertisement on the official home page of the A1 Ring, venue of coming Sunday´s Austrian Grand Prix. F1 Racing in Austria dates back to the sixties when the event was held at the nearby military airfield of Zeltweg in the province of Styria: in 1964 it bore stoneage conditions when Phil Hill´s car caught fire in the straw(!)bundles that marked the course ...
...airfield. In August 1970 a brand new track was opened and I was among 120000 spectators to watch the Belgian Jackie Ickx win the Grand Prix. Too bad for our star Jochen Rindt who didn´t finish the race, but he went on to become the first world champ posthumous after his tragic accident two weeks later in Monza, Italy... Back then the ultrafast course (253 kmh average!)was called Oesterreichring and races have been held until 1987 before major reconstruction ... Read review

Advantages: Not a bad circuit for overtaking, Good chance of a competitive race, Beautiful track location.
Disadvantages: 2000 race was fairly dull after lap one., Not the most exciting track., No home drivers.

...the standard of competition in Formula One is currently very good and issues of reliability look set to play a vital role. The Track ------------ At 4.3km, the A1-Ring is the shortest on the Formula One calendar. This, and the general combination of long straights leading into slow corners has earned it an unfortunate reputation as something of a glorified kart track. However, it is precisely this feature that makes the A1-Ring an easier track to ...
...race in 1963 a full Formula One Grand Prix was held the following year and, after a brief hiatus, a race was held every year from 1970 to 1987. In 1970 home star Jochen Rindt was cheered on by the crowd in what was to become is championship year, though Jacky Ickx won the race. Rindt became famous as the only posthumous F1 Champion, after dying in a crash at Monza some weeks after the Austrian race and becoming champion after his death when his rivals ... Read review

Advantages: An good race
Disadvantages: on an average track

...and general razamatazz that follows formula One, then Austria draws a sharp contrast to your expectations. The circuit in Spielberg, Austria, known as the A1 ring, is far from being the most exciting place on earth. Despite producing world champions (Jochen Rindt and Nikki Lauda) the fans do not seem to be that interested in Grand Prix racing. The circuit is never sold out. This is a shame when you consider countries are crying out to hold one ...
...its had to get the crowd interested. Layout ------ It is a very short lap at A1. It takes only about 70-75 seconds a lap compared to 80-100 seconds at some circuits. Its more like a go Kart track. Essentially it is 3 main straights, interconnected by a series of corners. Turn One and turn Two are quite tight by modern standards and normally result in a crash or two. The grand prix weekend is basically the only use the track will get during ... Read review

Advantages: Levels out the teams.
Disadvantages: Hard to overtake.

The scenery around the A1 ring is mountainous and beautiful for tourists, but the circuit itself is not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. It is a shadow of it's former self, back in the mid-eighties there were some great races around the old circuit, then known as the Osterichring. The slimmed down circuit is very difficult to overtake on, even more than most circuits as it has no long straights to speak of. It is just possible if you ...
...in front of you at the end of the start/finish straght, but this can lead to disaster as the corner is difficult to spot being at the top of a hill. One interesting feature here is the weather, which is very variable due to the presence of the mountains, in fact it can be VERY wet which means there can be plenty of thrills and spills. The circuits layout favours medium downforce, but it is a circuit which no constructor has a big advantage on as ... Read review