Spielberg, a home of Formula One Grand Prix

The Red Bull Ring, previously known by the name Österreichring, is a motor-sport race track with a long tradition of holding races and a home of Formula One Grand Prix in Spielberg. This small town is located in the Austrian province of Styria, one hour drive from the province's capital Graz and two hours from the state's capital Vienna. The town and the track are situated in the mountains, and they offer spectacular, scenic and unique views on the surrounding mountains.

Photo © Philip Platzer/Red Bull Content Pool

A long tradition of racing

A tradition of the racing in Spielberg is 60 years old. The first race was held on the track built on the site of an airfield, so-called the Zeltweg Airfield circuit. By the construction of the circuit, the constructors didn’t take into account the abrasive nature of the surface. Therefore, this track wasn’t suitable for racing and only one Formula One Race in 1963 was held here. On the uneven track, eleven of the twenty racers dropped out. After a decade of usage, the bumpy circuit was abandoned and the new, very fast circuit named Österreichring was built, few kilometres from the original location.

The new track with a length of almost six kilometres was very demanding for engines and tires especially. Some of the parts were very narrow and with little to no protection at all. This track was known for having many crashes at the start straights, because it was only nine meters wide, while most start–finish straights on other tracks were 18 to 24 m wide. More serious accidents were caused by the narrow pit. In 1985, the race was even stopped after one lap following a start line accident had taken out three cars. An American driver Mark Donohue died after the crash in 1975. Also, two more motorcycle riders died after another crash at Österreichring.

The safety concerns were the reason for rebuilding the track in 1995 and 1996. After the reconstruction, it hosted seven Formula One Austrian Grand Prix between 1997 and 2003, as well as several DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) races and Austrian motorcycle races in 1996 and 1997. A new track wasn’t that popular as the old Österreichring. This high-speed circuit was the fastest track of the Formula One. After two crashes due to mass collisions at the 1987 Austrian Grand Prix, the track was not a part of the Formula One calendar for 10 years.

Red Bull era

In 2004, Dietrich Mateschitz owner of Red Bull acquired the track with a goal to expand it into a motor-sport and flying academy. An allegedly planned investment was up to 750 million euros. Due to the objections from the local population and environmental concerns, the rebuilding plans were abandoned. Meanwhile, the demolition work had already been started, so the race track was not in use and the existing operating license was withdrawn. After seven more years and €70 million, the reconstructed race track was opened in 2011, under the name Red Bull Ring. Hermann Tilke, world's most renowned race circuit designer, was responsible for the new design of the circuit. Formula One World Championship returned three years later, after a break of more than 10 years. Also, the Motorcycle World Championship was held here after a break of 19 years. Since the new opening, different high-class racing events such as the DTM, ADAC GT Masters, European Le Mans Series or the Truck Race Trophy were hosted at Red Bull Ring.

Today, the visitors can admire this motor-sport arena every day. There are fan shops, a café, and the information office. Red Bull Ring offers a driving centre with professional instructors, which makes good car drivers faster. There is also a car park which accommodates a pool of sports cars including 12 KTM X-Bows, 9 Formula 4, 2 Formel Renaults 3.5, 6 Mitsubishi Evo IXs and many more two or four-wheeled vehicles.

If you are a speed junky, don’t miss to visit Spielberg, a home of Formula One Grand Prix.