The
Red Bull Ring is an
Austrian race circuit in
Spielberg,
Styria.
The race circuit was founded as
Österreichring and hosted the
Formula One Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the
A1-Ring, it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from to . The track was then bought by
Red Bull's
Dietrich Mateschitz, closed and demolished. Renamed the
Red Bull Ring the track was reopened on 15 May 2011. The circuit will host a round of the
2011 DTM season and a round of the
2011 F2 championship.
The old Österreichring was more often referred to as being located at
Zeltweg, which is bigger and better known. However, the circuit was never relocated, only modified.
In addition, the one-off
1964 Austrian Grand Prix was held at
Zeltweg Airfield, so this name was already known.
The original track
Originally built in 1969 to replace the bland and bumpy Zeltweg Airfield circuit, the Österreichring track was known for being very fast, as every corner was a fast sweeper and were taken in no lower than 4th gear, as well as noticeable changes in elevation during the course of a lap. Like most fast circuits it was a hard circuit on engines but considerably more difficult on tires. Many considered the Österreichring to...
Read More