JABAR EKSPRES – The 10th series of the 2023 Formula 1 season was held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria. Max Verstappen of the Red Bull team managed to strengthen his position at the top of the driver standings after winning in Canada. The Dutch racer currently has a total of 195 points, keeping a gap of 69 points from his teammate, Sergio Perez, who is his closest rival. In the constructor standings, Red Bull also leads with 321 points, ahead of Mercedes and Aston Martin.
The Red Bull Ring circuit has a track length of 4.318km with the fastest lap record held by Carlos Sainz of the McLaren team in 2020 with a time of 1:05.619. The race distance is 71 laps or approximately 306.452km. In the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, the winner was Charles Leclerc of the Ferrari team, with the fastest lap set by Verstappen of Red Bull with a time of 1:07.275, and Verstappen also achieved the fastest position in the qualifying session with a time of 1:04.984. Verstappen was also the winner of the sprint race in 2022.
With three straights that dominate the early part of the lap before entering some medium-speed and fast corners, the Red Bull Ring Circuit makes the most of its relatively short size. The circuit will again host a sprint race on Saturday before the main Austrian Grand Prix race the following day. The tight time constraints mean that teams and drivers only have one practice session before the qualifying session on Friday and the sprint race the following day, meaning they have to find the right settings in a short space of time.
Official FIA data shows that pole position does not provide a significant advantage in Spielberg. To date, only nine of the last 18 races in Austria have been won by drivers who started on pole position. However, only once has a driver who started behind the front two managed to win the race, which was when David Coulthard finished first in 2001 after starting from seventh position.
