Austrian Grand Prix
As the Austrian Grand Prix, a Formula 1 race has been held in Austria 34 times so far, first a race in the municipality of Zeltweg and later in the neighbouring town of Spielberg, two kilometres away, in the Murtal district of Styria. Between 1965 and 1969 the race was held as a sports car race.
In 1957, an international race for sports cars and prototypes, Grand Tourisme and motorcycles was held for the first time on the grounds of the military airfield in Zeltweg (Styria), which was built after 1937. In 1959 the first Formula 2 race took place, the first world championship race in 1964. In 1960 Jack Brabham on Cooper-Climax and Stirling Moss on Porsche, among others, took part. The following year, Formula 1 racing cars started here for the first time in Austria. In 1963, the race was held for the first time as the "Austrian Grand Prix", won by Jack Brabham on Brabham-Climax. Jochen Rindt retired after an engine failure. That year, the race did not have World Championship status. The following year, the race counted towards the FIA's World Automobile Championship for Formula 1. The track was 3.2 km long. There were 105 laps, making a total of 336 km. The fastest race lap was set by Dan Gurney in 1:10.56 min. for the Brabham team.
From 1970 to 1987, Formula One races were held regularly on the Österreichring, which was completed in 1969 on the site of the municipalities of Spielberg and Flatschach. The circuit initially had a length of 5.911 km and was lengthened to 5.942 km in 1977 with the addition of a chicane in response to Mark Donohue's fatal accident in 1975. After requiring 60 laps to be completed in the first season, the number of laps later varied between 52 and 54 race laps. The circuit was considered to be an absolute high speed circuit, on which, apart from Silverstone, new records for the average speed of a lap were achieved again and again for some years. The race lap record on this circuit is held by Nigel Mansell with 1:28,318 min., which he achieved on Williams in 1987. In this race, there were two major accidents at the start, causing millions in damage, after which Formula 1 said goodbye to Austria for ten years, as the track was no longer up to scratch.
In the mid-1990s, the circuit was completely rebuilt. It was modernised, the safety facilities (especially run-off zones, which were completely lacking on the old track, were created by narrowing the corners, and the new track was also considerably wider) were renewed, it got a new section and was shortened to 4.319 km. In addition, the track was renamed A1-Ring and now belonged entirely to Spielberg. From 1997 to 2003, Formula 1 races were again held on the A1-Ring. In 2002, the track length was again slightly changed to 4.326 km in the course of minor reconstruction work, but an EU-wide ban on tobacco advertising heralded another break the following year.
The site was then sold to Dietrich Mateschitz. He began converting the site into a motorsport centre in 2004. However, immediately after the start of the demolition work, the project was stopped in the course of a negative environmental impact assessment and so it was not clear for a time how the site would be used in the future, as Red Bull was not prepared to implement the project on a limited basis. In the course of the election campaign before the 2005 state election, politicians again showed their efforts to "save the Spielberg project". On 15 May 2011, the circuit was reopened as the Red Bull Ring under new owner Dietrich Mateschitz.
Three years later, Formula 1 also returned to Spielberg. The first race took place on 22 June 2014.
The record winner to date is Alain Prost with three victories in the 1983, 1985 and 1986 seasons.
The scandalous race of 2002
Race course in Zeltweg
Location of Zeltweg and Spielberg
Results
| Circulation | Year | Route | Class | Winner | Second | Third | Pole position | Fastestlap |
| 01 | 1963 | Zeltweg | F1 | Australia | United States | Netherlands | United Kingdom | Australia |
| 02 | 1964 | Zeltweg | F1 | Italy | United States | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | United States |
| 1965 until 1969 | Held as a sports car race | |||||||
| 08 | 1970 | Spielberg | F1 | Belgium | Switzerland | Germany | Austria | Belgium |
| 09 | 1971 | Spielberg | F1 | Switzerland | Brazil 1968 | Australia | Switzerland | Switzerland |
| 10 | 1972 | Spielberg | F1 | Brazil 1968 | New Zealand | United States | Brazil 1968 | New Zealand |
| 11 | 1973 | Spielberg | F1 | Sweden | United Kingdom | Brazil 1968 | Brazil 1968 | Brazil 1968 |
| 12 | 1974 | Spielberg | F1 | Argentina | New Zealand | United Kingdom | Austria | Switzerland |
| 13 | 1975 | Spielberg | F1 | Italy | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | Austria | Italy |
| 14 | 1976 | Spielberg | F1 | United Kingdom | France | Sweden | United Kingdom | United Kingdom |
| 15 | 1977 | Spielberg | F1 | Australia | Austria | Germany Federal Republic | Austria | United Kingdom |
| 16 | 1978 | Spielberg | F1 | Sweden | France | Canada | Sweden | Sweden |
| 17 | 1979 | Spielberg | F1 | Australia | Canada | France | France | France |
| 18 | 1980 | Spielberg | F1 | France | Australia | Argentina | France | France |
| 19 | 1981 | Spielberg | F1 | France | France | Brazil 1968 | France | France |
| 20 | 1982 | Spielberg | F1 | Italy | Finland | France | Brazil 1968 | Brazil 1968 |
| 21 | 1983 | Spielberg | F1 | France | France | Brazil 1968 | France | France |
| 22 | 1984 | Spielberg | F1 | Austria | Brazil 1968 | Italy | Brazil 1968 | Austria |
| 23 | 1985 | Spielberg | F1 | France | Brazil 1968 | Italy | France | France |
| 24 | 1986 | Spielberg | F1 | France | Italy | Sweden | Italy | Austria |
| 25 | 1987 | Spielberg | F1 | United Kingdom | Brazil 1968 | Italy | Brazil 1968 | United Kingdom |
| 1988 until 1996 | no Austrian Grand Prix | |||||||
| 26 | 1997 | Spielberg | F1 | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | Canada | Canada |
| 27 | 1998 | Spielberg | F1 | Finland | United Kingdom | Germany | Italy | United Kingdom |
| 28 | 1999 | Spielberg | F1 | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | Finland | Finland | Finland |
| 29 | 2000 | Spielberg | F1 | Finland | United Kingdom | Brazil | Finland | United Kingdom |
| 30 | 2001 | Spielberg | F1 | United Kingdom | Germany | Brazil | Germany | United Kingdom |
| 31 | 2002 | Spielberg | F1 | Germany | Brazil | Colombia | Brazil | Germany |
| 32 | 2003 | Spielberg | F1 | Germany | Finland | Brazil | Germany | Germany |
| 2004 until 2013 | no Austrian Grand Prix | |||||||
| 33 | 2014 | Spielberg | F1 | Germany | United Kingdom | Finland | Brazil | Mexico |
| 34 | 2015 | Spielberg | F1 | Germany | United Kingdom | Brazil | United Kingdom | Germany |
| 35 | 2016 | Spielberg | F1 | United Kingdom | Netherlands | Finland | United Kingdom | United Kingdom |
| 36 | 2017 | Spielberg | F1 | Finland | Germany | Australia | Finland | United Kingdom |
| 37 | 2018 | Spielberg | F1 | Netherlands | Finland | Germany | Finland | Finland |
| 38 | 2019 | Spielberg | F1 | Netherlands | Monaco | Finland | Monaco | Netherlands |
| 39 | 2020 | Spielberg | F1 | Finland | Monaco | United Kingdom | Finland | United Kingdom |
| Legend | ||
| Abbreviation | Class | Comment |
| F1 | Formula 1 | Formula 1 World Championship from 1950 |
| F2 | Formula 2 | |
| FL | Formula libre | Vehicle class usually advertised by the organizer |
| SW | Sports car | |
| TW | Touring car | |
| GP | Grand Prix cars | |
| ↓ Solid gray lines indicate when a new course was taken in history. ↓ | ||
| Entries with a bright red background were not rounds of the automobile or Formula 1 World Championship. | ||
| Entries with yellow background were heats for the European Championship. | ||
Questions and Answers
Q: What was the first Austrian Grand Prix held?
A: The first Austrian Grand Prix was held in 1964 at a race track on the Zeltweg Airfield.
Q: Why did the FIA remove the race from the F1 calendar?
A: The FIA removed the race from the F1 calendar because it deemed that the track was too dangerous, narrow and bumpy, and spectators complained of poor viewing areas.
Q: Where was it held from 1970 until 1987?
A: From 1970 until 1987, it was held at Österreichring near Zeltweg.
Q: When did it become known as European Grand Prix?
A: In 1975, it became known as European Grand Prix.
Q: Why did they drop the race for a decade in 1987?
A: In 1987, they dropped the race for a decade because FIA decided that circuit was too dangerous.
Q: What changes were made to bring up to modern standards in 1995 and 1996?
A: In 1995 and 1996, modifications were made to bring up to modern standards such as renaming of circuit after sponsor A1-Ring and relocating location of Grand Prix to Spielberg.
Q: When was final Austrian Grand Prix held?
A:The final Austrian Grand Prix was held in 2003 before returning to Formula One calendar in 2014.
