Set the scene for me.
By some aerodynamic miracle, McLaren appears to have closed what was a massive gap to Red Bull, with Mercedes and Ferrari not that far behind. So while Max Verstappen is still winning (a lot), he’s not winning by a lot. Unpredictability, how we have missed you.
Last week’s race in Spain was a gripping spectacle as polesitter Lando Norris chased down the Red Bull driver in a seemingly faster car. But the Dutchman was flawless and took the checkered flag, anyway, with just two seconds separating the title rivals.
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Yep, title rivals. We’re calling it. The championship fight is back on. Maybe. To be honest, we’re just happy that individual races aren’t a foregone conclusion anymore. We’d have settled for that when it looked like the 2024 Formula 1 season would be another one-Bull show a couple of months back.
With four teams so close on pace, any one of eight drivers could end up on the top step on Sunday afternoon. Or seven drivers, once you’ve remembered that one of those is Sergio Perez. Harsh? Yes. But the Mexican is having a torrid time of it right now, having only recently signed his contract extension for 2025.
That brings us to the driver market news that’s flooded in this week. Alpine has tied down Pierre Gasly and Aston Martin has (shocker) rehired its owner’s son again. Elsewhere, rumor has it that RB could be lining up another brutal mid-season swap to turf out Daniel Ricciardo in favour of Liam Lawson, and everyone is waiting to see where Carlos Sainz Jr. is headed next...
What time does the Austrian Grand Prix start?
If you’re watching from the Philippines, then the race starts at 9pm sharp on Sunday, June 30. Qualifying meanwhile is on Saturday, June 29, starting at 8pm and likely to last about an hour. Maybe more if a Sauber ends up in the gravel.
But wait! This is no ordinary race weekend. This is a Sprint weekend, therefore the format switches up in Austria. Instead of endless practice sessions, there’s Sprint qualifying on June 28. The Sprint race itself is the opening act for Saturday’s action at 6pm. Hope you didn’t have plans.
Is it going to rain?
Well...the current forecast suggests there’s a high chance of rain on Sunday, but it’s not clear yet if the showers will arrive before, during, or after the grand prix. Not very helpful, sorry. But yeah, it might rain. And you know what rain means. Carnage. Glorious carnage.
Gimme some history in 100 words or fewer.
The Austrian GP was first held in the ’60s on what is apparently the main base for the Austrian Air Force. Eventually, it moved to the Österreichring, which became the A1-Ring, which became the Red Bull Ring, which...is what it’s called now. It returned to the F1 calendar in 2014, and highlights since then include Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg’s last-lap clash in 2016, Verstappen’s eighth-to-first recovery win in 2019, and Norris’ first F1 podium in 2021. Don’t forget this track hosted two races in 2020, the other dubbed the Styrian Grand Prix. Perhaps they thought no one would notice?
The top three will be…
Oh, crumbs—this is actually difficult now. Let’s say Lando wins this one with Verstappen a close second. Mercedes look quick now, so we’re backing Russell for P3; Hamilton doesn’t have the best record here for some reason. Shock of the weekend? Fernando Alonso will finish out of the points again and thus reluctantly chip in several million dollars into the ‘Hire Adrian Newey Fund’ that Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll is crowdfunding for.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
