date: 2026-01-01
The Red Bull Ring is the most compact F1 circuit on the current calendar — and, in distance per second, one of the most intense. 4.3 kilometers, a 70-second F1 lap, three hard braking zones, all uphill or downhill. Spend a weekend here and you have seen motorsport in compressed form.
What it is
- 4.318 km, 10 corners
- Elevation change of 65 m in one lap
- F1 lap record: 1:05.619 — Carlos Sainz, 2020
- Opened in 1969 as the Österreichring, rebuilt in 1996 as the A1-Ring, reopened in 2011 as the Red Bull Ring
- Owned by Dietrich Mateschitz, later Mark Mateschitz
The sectors
Sector 1: Start → Turn 1 → Turn 3. Start/finish with a short acceleration into the Niki Lauda corner (Turn 1). Right after the climb comes the Remus corner (Turn 3) — a right-hand hairpin with one of the fiercest decelerations on the F1 calendar.
Sector 2: Schlossgold → Rauch. Fast middle section with a long acceleration. Schlossgold is the secret key corner — a slight kink that gets underestimated at full speed.
Sector 3: Würth corner → Red Bull grandstand → start/finish. Final sector with the Würth corner as a technical test and the Red Bull grandstand as a final fast sweep.
What it demands
- Braking stability. Three hard braking events, all with elevation change — the load is higher than on flat circuits
- Aerodynamic balance. High wing for the fast sectors, but enough downforce for the hairpins
- Clean upshift routines. The climb after Turn 1 taxes the drivetrain and tires
The ABXK take
The Red Bull Ring is the most beautiful trackday circuit in the Alpine region. Arrive via Salzburg or Graz, stay in Spielberg or Murau, spend a day on the circuit — and all around, scenery that turns any summer trackday into a small journey.
On the 2026 calendar with a DTM round, the F1 Austrian GP and a MotoGP weekend.