F1 TEAM PREVIEWS FOR BACK-TO-BACK STYRIAN & AUSTRIAN GPS

June 23, 2021
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The F1 circus heads to the Red Bull Ring this weekend and next for back-to-back Grands Prix, first up is the Styrian Grand Prix Steiermark GP then the Austrian GP. The teams have sent us through their previews for the weekends of racing and we’ve brought themall togther into one post for you.

2021 Styrian & Austrian Grands Prix – preview

Red Bull Ring

Rounds: 8 & 9

Race laps: 71

Circuit length: 4.318km/2.683 miles

Total race distance: 306.452km/190.420 miles

Number of corners: 10 (seven right, three left)

Session start times:

FP1: 1130 local/1030 MTC
FP2: 1500 local/1400 MTC
FP3: 1200 local/1100 MTC
Qualifying: 1500 local/1400 MTC
Race start: 1500 local/1400 MTC

Allocated tyre compounds:

Styrian Grand Prix

Hard: C2
Medium: C3
Soft: C4

Austrian Grand Prix

Hard: C3
Medium: C4
Soft: C5

Lando Norris #4

“I’m really looking forward to going racing in Austria for the next two weeks. It’s a special place as it’s where I got my first podium in Formula 1. We had two strong back-to-back results in Austria last season, so I’m hoping we can have a similar two weekends this time out. We can’t get ahead of ourselves as a lot of things are different from last year, like the car and tyres. We’ll go into these two races with our heads down and take it one step at a time to try and have two results like we managed in France, but also working hard on improving our qualifying performance.”

Daniel Ricciardo #3

“I’m looking forward to having another race on the bounce and a double in Austria. It could be a wet one – maybe even for both weekends. We could get two very different races, you never know. I think it’s just a good opportunity for me to keep working on the car and myself. Hopefully, we can build on the performance we had in France and find some consistency we’ve been looking for. We’ll try and get some more points for the team in Austria. It’s close out there and every weekend counts, so we’ll be pushing hard.”

Andreas Seidl Team Principal

“After a well-executed race in France, we come away from the first race of the triple-header with crucial points for the Constructors’ Championship. We now switch our focus to Austria as we prepare to go racing in the Styrian hills for the next two weekends.

“Two races back-to-back at the same track present an interesting challenge as we could have two very different races due to certain conditions such as the weather. So, it’s important we treat every race as a single event with the same preparation despite it being the same track. As a team we must continue to work hard to maintain good reliability and remain on top of parts management during this intense period.

“The battle with our competitors remains closely-contested, with very little separating us. We need to be ready to maximise any opportunities that present themselves over the coming races. It’s also important we stay focused and keep working on our performances in every session to increase our chances of qualifying in the best positions possible to then give us a fighting chance to score points. There’s a lot to play for over the next two races and we’ll keep pushing.”

ENDS/

2021 Styrian & Austrian Grand Prix Race Preview, Presented by Cognizant

Sebastian Vettel

“The goal is to continue our points-scoring form in Austria and maintain our consistency. It’s a great circuit to race at because it’s such a quick lap but with plenty of high-speed and difficult corners. It feels great when you can hook the car up for a lap. It is always challenging to race at the same circuit back-to-back because the margins become increasingly small the more laps we do, but that makes it exciting.”

Lance Stroll

“Overall, Paul Ricard was a positive weekend for the team. The car showed great race pace, which enabled me to bounce back from a tough qualifying session. We head to Austria with strong momentum and we’re hungry for more.”

Cognizant’s Keys to the Race

With three DRS zones (Turns One to Three, Turns Three to Four and Turns 10 to One), there’s plenty of overtaking opportunities around a lap of the circuit. In 2020, the first Austrian race had 29 passes after the first lap, before an upswing to 43 the following weekend. A total of 76% of those overtakes were assisted by DRS, underlining its powerful impact.
Overtaking is comparable to Baku. The best opportunities to overtake in Austria come at Turns Three and Four due to the heavy braking point on entry into Turn Three, which can reward late-brakers and offers several angles of attack. With a DRS zone immediately following, the downhill run to Turn Four offers a chance to fight back or power past for position.
Pirelli is splitting its tyre options in Austria. The opening race will use the C2, C3 and C4 mid-range, used last time out in France, before going one step softer for the Austria finale with the C3, C4 and C5. The venue is traditionally low on degradation, so expect a one-stopper to be the standard strategy.
In 2020, there were four Safety Cars across the two races in Austria (three in the opening and one in the second event), but historically there is a 50% chance of a Safety Car in dry Austrian races, and there has only ever been one Virtual Safety Car, back in 2018. A mid-race interruption could potentially turn the race into a two-stopper.

ENDS/

Alpine F1 Team previews the eighth race weekend of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the BWT Styrian Grand Prix.

Drivers Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso and Executive Director Marcin Budkowski share their thoughts ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix.

Esteban Ocon: “Austria is quite a unique circuit especially with its location in the hills. I really like that, though, as it’s not where you’d expect to have a racetrack! It’s a really beautiful location, so to spend two weeks there is always nice. Last year’s double header in Austria was very memorable as it marked the time I returned to racing in Formula 1 and also the first race in 2020 after the delay with Covid. One thing that will be different this time around is that we’ll have fans in Austria and that’s exciting. Having fans in the grandstands, like in France, brings a whole new level of atmosphere and a real buzz. I really enjoy that, and I look forward to seeing the fans again this weekend.”

Fernando Alonso: “It’s an exciting track to race on with lots of big elevation changes and high-speed corners. I raced here in the 2000s and again when it returned from 2014 so I have quite a bit of experience of the circuit and it hasn’t changed much. There are some good overtaking opportunities into turn three and four, so it makes the weekend quite exciting as you can fight for positions on the Sunday. I like that it’s back to back with another race as you can try keep the momentum going from the previous round.”

Marcin Budkowski: “Austria is a short track with only nine corners, which means that gaps in qualifying are very small and every hundredth of a second can make a difference. A lot of the lap is spent at full throttle with most of the sectors medium to high-speed. The kerbs are big there and can be punishing for the bodywork and suspension. On top of all this, it’s a bit harder on tyres than France so that is something to be wary of after last weekend.”

ENDS/

MAX VERSTAPPEN Q&A

In France you scored a career hattrick in taking your third clean sweep of pole position, race victory and fastest lap. Just how good was last weekend?

It was an amazing weekend and it always feels good to get pole position, but to win was a great result. I’m super pleased with that, and we won the race on strategy. I hope now we can keep this up for the rest of the year. Everyone at the track and in the factory is working flat out and now we just need to keep pushing to win more races this year.

Historically, Circuit Paul Ricard has been a weaker track for us so did you expect to be so competitive?

No we didn’t as Mercedes have been so strong there in the past but we are seeing that every race weekend is different in terms of competitiveness and you never know where you stand until you’re out on track. You never know what the others are capable of so we didn’t expect this result which makes it even more satisfying. It was a great team effort from everybody, you can see everyone is working very well together and it’s just a great team of people here.

The next race of this triple header is at our home track, the Red Bull Ring. What are you expecting?

I’m really looking forward to Austria because of course it’s like a home Grand Prix and the opportunity to have two races makes it even better. It’s always nice to race here and we’ve had good results at the Red Bull Ring but nothing is ever guaranteed. We have to again set up the car well there, read the conditions and react to them. I don’t know what the weather will be like but for sure I’m expecting it to be close again. We’ll find out when we get there but hopefully we can have two very good weekends.

SERGIO PEREZ Q&A

With third place in France, you scored back to back podiums for the first time in your F1 career. How do you summarise the weekend?

It was a positive weekend and it was great for the Team to take a double podium and score valuable points in the constructors championship. On my side I am still making progress and things are coming together but everything is going in the right direction.

As a Team we didn’t expect this kind of performance at a track that hasn’t suited us in the past.

As a Team we worked really well together in France. We made the strategy work and now we just need to keep it up. It’s time to look ahead and it’s still very early in the season so we need to keep working hard and treat every race as if it’s the last. The motivation from everybody is super high, and we’ll take this momentum forward to maximise our potential in the coming races.

Next up is the Styrian Grand Prix and Red Bull’s home race…

I’m looking forward to racing for Red Bull at its home Grand Prix and we have two weekends now at the same track which I think will help me a lot in terms of progress and getting more experience in the car. The Team has done well here in the past so hopefully that form continues and we can get some good results.

STATS AND FACTS

Red Bull Racing has scored three consecutive victories for the first time in the hybrid era
Honda Racing has won three races in a row for the first time since Ayrton Senna won the opening four races of the 1991 Formula One World Championship
Max scored a career hattrick at the French GP after taking pole position, race victory and fastest lap
The upcoming Styrian and Austrian Grands Prix present an opportunity to win consecutive races on consecutive weekends at the same race track – a feat no Formula One driver has ever accomplished
With third place at the French Grand Prix, Checo scored back to back podium finishes for the first time in his career
The 2021 Styrian Grand Prix takes place on 25-26-27 June, dates that only Red Bull Racing has won races on, with Daniel winning the 2017 Azerbaijan GP on June 25, Sebastian winning the 2011 European GP on June 26, and the 2010 European GP on June 27

ENDS/

Main Photo: Red Bull Ring FB, all other images supplied

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