Formula 1 has held the Austrian Grand Prix off-and-on since 1964 and has called the Red Bull Ring home since 2014, so F1 Oversteer looks at what teams tend to do well.
The Zeltweg Airfield in Styria marked the first site for the Austrian GP after proving itself as a venue for Formula 1 races with a test event the year prior. But F1 never held another race in a world championship at the four-corner circuit. Instead, the event did not return until 1970.
F1 sought to move the Austrian GP to the Osterreichring when it revived the race after a six-year hiatus. There, the pinnacle of motorsport found a home yet still took its race away from 1988 to 1996. Safety standards at the track meant F1 kept away until it became the A1-Ring.
Ferrari won the first F1 Austrian GP with Lorenzo Bandini in 1964
But F1’s return to Styria only lasted from the 1997 to the 2003 Austrian Grand Prix before it stayed away for another decade. Red Bull purchasing the circuit and improving the facilities meant the travelling circus of Formula 1 returned again in 2014, and has stayed there since.
The Red Bull Ring through its various guises has been a happy hunting ground for an array of Formula 1 teams, too. Ferrari were the first team to win an Austrian GP at the Osterreichring with Jacky Ickx in 1970. They even won at the Zeltweg Airfield with Lorenzo Bandini in 1964.
READ MORE: Five unforgettable Austrian GP moments including Ferrari’s team orders
But Jacques Villeneuve gifted Williams the first Formula 1 win at the A1-Ring after Hermann Tilke redesigned the Osterreichring. Nico Rosberg also secured Mercedes the first F1 win at the Red Bull Ring in 2014. Mercedes’ engines had already won the Austrian GP three times.
Ferrari and McLaren are the most successful F1 teams at the Austrian GP
Ferrari winning the Austrian Grand Prix on Formula 1’s first visits to the Zeltweg Airfield and the Osterreichring help the Scuderia to be one the most successful teams in the race’s history. Yet despite last winning the Austrian GP in 2001, McLaren have also won it six times.
Mercedes have also dominated the Austrian GP since F1 returned to the Red Bull Ring in the 2014 season. The Silver Arrows’ V6 turbo-hybrid power units saw Rosberg win back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas have also won it driving for Mercedes.
But more recent seasons have seen Red Bull dominate with Max Verstappen at the track the team’s parent company owns. Their success at the venue since 2018 has already surpassed what Williams and Renault once achieved during those teams’ visits to Styria in yesteryear.
Mercedes are the most successful team at the Austrian GP at the A1-Ring or Red Bull Ring
Having won it five times since Formula 1 revived the Austrian GP in 2014, Mercedes are also the most successful team since Tilke redesigned Osterreichring for the race’s return in 1997. Ferrari have taken four of their six all-time Austrian GP wins since the circuit was shortened.
McLaren have also won three times on the shortened circuit but last saw one of their drivers stand atop the podium in 2001. The Woking squad registered a dominant period around the turn of the century with Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard mastering it in the A1-Ring era.
Ford is the most successful F1 engine manufacturer at the Austrian GP
Despite Ferrari having big success at the Austrian GP since F1 first visited Styria in 1964, the Scuderia are only the third-most successful engine manufacturer. Instead, Ford sits atop the chart thanks to its partnership with Cosworth which returned each of the brand’s nine wins.
Mercedes have also powered the Austrian GP-winning car on eight occasions, with the first three of those wins coming through the Silver Arrows’ time producing engines for McLaren. Porsche also produced the TAG-badged engines that won the Austrian GP in three seasons.
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