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Tyres NorthamptonWith only a moment to catch our breath after the electrifying events of Sunday at Silverstone, Formula One is back in action this weekend for the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix. Gone is the long, flat Northamptonshire circuit, replaced by the Styrian mountains at one of F1's shortest tracks with undulations throughout.
The rollercoaster track of the Red Bull Ring has provided many memorable races on its incredibly quick ten-corner layout since returning to Formula One in 2014. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, as well as Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen, have had dramatic late-race battles for the lead come to a head at the Turn 3 hairpin. Lando Norris also spectacularly took his first F1 podium by 0.2s after taking the fastest lap in 2020's season opener on his Pirelli medium tyres in the race's final throes.
It's a Sprint weekend for Formula One, so watch out for the altered weekend format so that you don't miss Qualifying on Friday and the Sprint on Saturday.
The Red Bull Ring is well-known to the teams after the last two seasons featured two races at the circuit; the Austrian GP and Styrian GP. Max Verstappen won both events, much to the delight of the travelling Dutch fans who flock to the track every season.
It's back to a single weekend in 2022, but there are still two races, with Saturday's 24-lap Sprint race. The circuit already feels like a sprint event, with around two-thirds of the track taken at full throttle. It's an almost non-stop, breathless assault for drivers with only a handful of corners to wait before they can attack or defend around the 4.318km track.
Tyre degradation will be high in Austria, with Pirelli bringing the softest three tyre compounds to the Red Bull Ring. The C3, C4, and C5 tyres are available for the teams to choose from. That contrasts last weekend when the hardest three varieties of Pirelli rubber were on hand.
Last year's Styrian Grand Prix saw the drivers use three sets of Pirelli tyres in a two-stop race with the same three tyre choices – but 2021's compounds don't equate to 2022s. To further add to the fun, there are fewer sets of rubber for each driver due to the Sprint race – only 12 sets, rather than 13.
All of the above ignores wet weather tyres, though, and the Red Bull Ring's weather is just as unpredictable, if not more, than what we're used to in Britain. The nearby mountains can see rainclouds quickly form to literally rain on a driver's parade, causing them to swap to Pirelli's intermediate or full wet weather options.
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The close running between Ferrari and Mercedes we saw at Silverstone means a three-team fight is not out of the question at the Red Bull Ring. Mercedes' upgrade package has pushed the team closer to the frontrunners, especially in race trim, even though a Lap 1 incident robbed us of seeing George Russell join in the British GP fun.
However, it would be foolish to overlook Red Bull's pace. Max Verstappen ran with significant floor damage at Silverstone, and Sergio Perez required a replacement front wing to nullify the current Constructors Championship leaders in Britain. The reigning world champion has won three of the previous four Austrian Grands Prix – much to the delight of his team at their home event – and will be the favourite going in.
There is the added complication of F1 Sprint returning for Austria, too. The short race on Saturday moves Qualifying to Friday and removes a Free Practice session to add an element of uncertainty. There is less time to test the car's setup with Pirelli's new 2022 tyres and this season's aerodynamic regulations. Any crash or mechanical failure in the sprint race will put that driver at the back of the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix.
The Austrian Grand Prix is on at 2PM on Sunday, but there is also the Sprint on Saturday for some short-form racing action at 3:30PM.
Qualifying – On air: 3PM, Session start: 4PM Friday 8th July
Sprint – On air: 2:30PM, Session start: 3:30PM Saturday 9th July
Race – On air: 12:30PM, Session start: 2PM Sunday 10th July
Channel 4 will show the highlights of Qualifying, Sprint, and the Grand Prix.
Qualifying – 5:30PM Friday 8th July
Sprint – 5:30PM Saturday 9th July
Race – 6:30PM Sunday 10th July
Qualifying – There's a chance of rain in the morning on Friday, but that should be clear by the time Qualifying begins, although temperatures are distinctly mild at 16-18°C.
Sprint – The warmest forecasted day of the race weekend with 21°C highs expected and a low chance of rain. This is Austria, though; a shower could form from nowhere.
Race – As with Friday, the most likely time to see rain will be the morning, which might make F2 and F3 slippery, but that's probably not the case for F1. Forecasts predict mild temperatures of around 15-17°C, which could cause tyre warm-up problems for drivers pitting for fresh Pirellis in the race.
