Our European leg of the 2025 Formula 1 calendar resumes in Austria this weekend after our brief trip over the Atlantic.
The Red Bull Ring is on hosting duties amid an early summer heatwave that should see equally scorching action at a track that always provides overtaking.
Get set for the Austrian GP before Sunday's race with these five things to know.
Can They Catch Carlos?
Carlos hasn't won around the Spielberg circuit yet, but he has shown he's quite adept at speeding around the Red Bull Ring.
His first Austrian podium trip came last season, one year after he took P3 in the rainy 2023 F1 Sprint ahead of his P6 finish in the race.
Our Spaniard has more than the trophy and medal in his cabinet to demonstrate he's quick around the undulating track – he holds the lap record.
Carlos' 1:05.619 in the 2020 Styrian GP remains the fastest tour of the circuit in race trim to this day.
Keep an eye on the Fastest Lap notifications on Sunday to see if Carlos keeps this mantle after the 2025 race.
Taking Turns
The current Red Bull Ring layout sees the drivers take the fewest corners on the calendar.
Just 10 turns make up the 4.318 km track, lending itself to the fastest lap time of the year, going about 10 seconds faster than the shortest track, Monaco.
With all drivers taking the Turn 2 kink flat out, the circuit has just four braking zones that see the cars generate over 2G.
It's not the shortest layout that the Austrian GP has ever had, though. That honour goes to the nearby Zeltweg Airfield that hosted a single championship race in 1964.
The almost two-mile track had just four corners – three right and one left – that the 20 drivers had to tackle for over two hours in the 105-lap race.
Austrian Speed
Sixteen Formula 1 drivers have hailed from Austria, and the country has made quite a mark on the sport.
Jochen Rindt and Niki Lauda both became champions, with Gerhard Berger joining the duo to get the national anthem, Land der Berge Land am Strome, playing after victory.
Red Bull Racing, of course, have triggered the anthem for recent victories, but a Williams driver is the most recent Austrian representative to get the flag on the podium.
Alexander Wurz took three F1 trophies from his time in the sport, with his final rostrum finish coming in an FW29 during the 2007 season.
The 6'1" racer started P19 in that year's Canadian GP, and executed a one-stop strategy throughout the incident-filled 70 laps to cross the line in P3.
Academy in Action
Lia Block took her season-best finish in F1 Academy last time out, but it's the return of Formula 2 and Formula 3 now we're back racing around Europe.
Luke Browning and Victor Martins will wear the W in F2, with both racers looking to capture their elusive first 2025 win after five podium finishes between them.
Meanwhile, in Formula 3, Alessandro Giusti's ever-improving results secured his first silverware on the F1 support bill last time out in Barcelona.
All three have enjoyed the winning feeling in Austria in lower series, and will look to capture that feeling again on Saturday and Sunday.
Our Latest Lockout
Williams' most recent pole position is also our most recent front-row lockout. Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas were the duo to take that accolade in the 2014 Grand Prix.
Felipe upset the Quali trend that year by knocking Mercedes from the P1 spot for the only time in the 19-round season.
The Silver Arrows title-winning speed was too much in the race, but Valtteri took P3 and his first F1 podium on a memorable Sunday for the Finn, with Felipe not far behind in P4.
Austria 2025
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