Gran Premio de Austria · History

The Austrian Grand Prix has been held at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, since 2014. Red Bull owns the circuit, and Projekt Spielberg has run it since 2011. Two separate events share the name. One is the Formula 1 race, which first counted towards the World Championship in 1964. The other is a round of the motorcycle World Championship, which first came to Austria in 1971. Both moved between several tracks and spent long spells off the calendar before settling at the circuit in Styria.

Beginnings at Zeltweg airfield

Formula 1 first came to Austria at the Zeltweg air base, a few kilometres from Spielberg. In 1963 the airfield staged a non-championship race, which Jack Brabham won. A year later Austria held its first World Championship Grand Prix, and Lorenzo Bandini won that 1964 race for Ferrari. The track was laid out on the airfield's runways and was judged too dangerous: some sections were narrow and bumpy, and spectators could barely see the action. Formula 1 did not come back until there was a permanent circuit.

The Österreichring years (1970-1987)

The Österreichring opened on 26 July 1969 in the hills around Spielberg. It was 5.942 kilometres long and made up of fast corners. It hosted Formula 1 every year from 1970 to 1987. In 1975 the American driver Mark Donohue was killed in a crash during the race weekend, and Vittorio Brambilla won the rain-hit race in a March. In 1982 Elio de Angelis beat Keke Rosberg by 0.05 seconds. Two years later, in 1984, Niki Lauda won his home race for McLaren. After the 1987 edition the FIA raised safety concerns and the Grand Prix was dropped for a decade.

The A1-Ring and the 2002 team orders

In 1995 and 1996 Hermann Tilke rebuilt the track on the same site and shortened it to 4.326 kilometres. It was renamed the A1-Ring after its main sponsor and hosted Formula 1 again from 1997 to 2003. The 2002 race is remembered for Ferrari ordering Rubens Barrichello to give the win to Michael Schumacher. The row that followed led to a ban on team orders that decide a race result. The 2003 race was the last one at the A1-Ring. The circuit closed in 2004 and its grandstands and pit buildings were demolished. That same year Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz bought the site.

Formula 1 returns with the Red Bull Ring

After the track was rebuilt, it reopened as the Red Bull Ring on 15 May 2011, and Formula 1 returned in 2014. Nico Rosberg won for Mercedes in 2014 and 2015, Lewis Hamilton in 2016 and Valtteri Bottas in 2017. In 2018 Max Verstappen gave Red Bull its first win at this Grand Prix, and he won again in 2019. In 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic made Austria the season opener. Bottas won again, and the circuit also hosted the Styrian Grand Prix. Verstappen added wins in 2021 and 2023, which makes him the race's most successful driver with four victories. Charles Leclerc won for Ferrari in 2022, George Russell for Mercedes in 2024 and Lando Norris for McLaren in 2025. Russell won again in 2026. Ferrari and Mercedes each have seven wins as constructors.

Motorcycle racing: from the Salzburgring to Spielberg

The motorcycle Grand Prix started in 1971 at the Salzburgring, near Salzburg. The circuit hosted the race from 1971 to 1979, from 1981 to 1991, and again in 1993 and 1994. In 1995 the race left the track because it was considered too dangerous. The championship moved to the Österreichring in 1996, and the circuit had been renamed the A1-Ring by 1997. The 1998 round was cancelled, mainly because too few spectators came. Giacomo Agostini and Ángel Nieto share the record for wins at the event with six each, and Honda is the most successful manufacturer, with 24 victories.

MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring

MotoGP returned to Austria in 2016 after a 19-year absence, and Andrea Iannone won for Ducati. The Italian make won again with Andrea Dovizioso in 2017 and 2019 and with Jorge Lorenzo in 2018. In 2021 Brad Binder gave Austrian manufacturer KTM a home win. A chicane was added to the layout before the 2022 race. That year Francesco Bagnaia started a run of three straight wins, in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Marc Márquez won for Ducati in 2025. On 20 September 2026 Pedro Acosta took his first MotoGP victory for KTM, on his 56th start in the class, ahead of Jorge Martín.