The 2025 F1 World Championship returned to the heart of Europe as the paddock touched down in Spielberg for the Austrian Grand Prix, kicking off a high-stakes stretch of four races in just six weeks before the well-deserved summer break. Nestled in the Styrian hills, the Red Bull Ring is a circuit that blends simplicity with brutality—short, fast, and punishingly precise. Owned by its namesake energy drink giant, this track is more than just home turf for Red Bull Racing; it’s a pressure cooker where momentum can be made or lost in mere tenths. After the North American detour to Montreal, the championship focus sharpened again on European soil, where teams often bring crucial mid-season upgrades.
The 2025 Austrian round ditched the Sprint format used in recent seasons in a shift back to tradition. It returned to the classic Grand Prix weekend structure—three free practice sessions (two on Friday, one Saturday), a Saturday evening qualifying showdown and the full-length race on Sunday. With the 2025 title fight intensifying and every point carrying extra weight, Spielberg was set as a critical juncture in the campaign for title protagonists (and teammates) Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
Race Guide
Season: 2025 F1 World Championship
Race weekend: 27 June 2025 – 29 June 2025
Race date: Sunday, 29 June, 2025
Race start time: 15:00 local time
Circuit: Red Bull Ring
Laps: 71
Circuit length: 4.318km
2024 winner: George Russell
| Pole position | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | TBC | TBC | |
| Time | TBC | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver | TBC | TBC | |
| Time | TBC | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | TBC | TBC | |
| Second | TBC | TBC | |
| Third | TBC | TBC | |
Compact, intense, and perched in the rolling Styrian hills, the Red Bull Ring may be short on corners, but it’s never short on drama. With just ten turns and the quickest lap time on the calendar—a blistering 1’02”939 set by Valtteri Bottas in 2020—the Austrian circuit demands perfection at high speed. It packs a punch in elevation too, second only to Spa-Francorchamps, climbing and dropping 63.5 metres across its 4.3-kilometre layout. Each of its three sectors brings a different challenge: Sector 1 charges uphill through sweeping straights, Sector 2 mixes heavy braking with downhill precision, and Sector 3 blends undulation with fast, flowing corners that reward commitment and punish hesitation. With three DRS zones, overtaking is never far away, making this one of the most action-heavy venues in the 2025 F1 World Championship.
Despite its remote alpine setting, the Red Bull Ring is a well-worn battleground. It sees regular action from both car and motorcycle series, so grip is high from the first laps on Friday. But don’t let the early summer sunshine fool you—the mountains here have a mind of their own. Conditions can turn in a heartbeat, with sudden rain sweeping in to rewrite strategies and shake up the grid. For teams and drivers, it’s a test of adaptability as much as raw pace, and it’s part of what makes Austria a cornerstone of the European leg of the championship.
Circuit stats
The 2025 Austrian Grand Prix was the 38th running of the event and the 40th time Formula 1 has raced in the scenic Styrian hills. The story of this track for F1 began in 1964 on the bumpy airfield of Zeltweg before moving to Spielberg in 1970, when the Österreichring debuted. After a hiatus in the late ’80s, the circuit returned in a shortened form as the A1-Ring in 1997, and since 2014, it has raced under the name Red Bull Ring. The COVID-impacted seasons of 2020 and 2021 saw the venue step up further, hosting both the Austrian and Styrian Grands Prix in back-to-back weekends.
Before the 2025 race, Max Verstappen reigned as the undisputed king of modern Austria, with four wins in the Austrian Grand Prix and another in the 2021 Styrian edition. He also held the record for most poles (5) and podiums (8) at the Red Bull Ring. A total of 26 drivers have won in Austria, including 11 world champions—among them Niki Lauda, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, and Alain Prost. Mercedes led the all-time win tally in Spielberg with seven victories, aided by Hamilton’s 2020 Styrian GP win, while Ferrari edged the stats for most poles (8) and podiums (29). In 2024, George Russell added his name to the winners’ list with a commanding drive that highlighted Austria’s knack for producing unpredictable racing.
Weekend schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 27 June 2025 | Free Practice 1 (FP1) | 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm local time |
| 27 June 2025 | Free Practice 2 (FP2) | 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm local time |
| 28 June 2025 | Free Practice 3 (FP3) | 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm local time |
| 28 June 2025 | Qualifying | 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm local time |
| 29 June 2025 | Race | 3:00 pm local time |
In Saturday qualifying…
Come Sunday’s race…
Championship background
Heading into the Austrian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri led the way in the championship with a 22-point advantage over McLaren teammate Lando Norris. Their intra-team rivalry boiled over in Canada, where a dramatic late-race collision forced Norris into retirement and handed Piastri a critical fourth-place finish. With the pressure mounting, all eyes were on how McLaren managed its dynamic duo at Spielberg.
Max Verstappen, currently third and 43 points behind Piastri, would be aiming to close the gap on familiar ground. The Dutchman had dominated at the Red Bull Ring in the past, with five wins to his name—including one in the Styrian Grand Prix—making this a crucial opportunity to reignite his title push. Meanwhile, Mercedes arrived on a high after George Russell won in Montreal, the team’s first of the season. Rookie Kimi Antonelli and his breakthrough podium further signalled a resurgence for the Silver Arrows. Ferrari, meanwhile, hoped to respond with an upgrade package this weekend as Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton looked to claw their way back into the fight at the front.
Race entries
The lineup of drivers and teams remained the same as the 2025 season’s entry list, apart from:
- A driver swap at the sister teams, Red Bull Racing and Racing Bulls, where Yuki Tsunoda moved up to the parent Red Bull team and Liam Lawson headed in the opposite direction back to Racing Bulls, for round three at the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix.
- Jack Doohan stepping out of the race seat at Alpine (post Miami), beginning with the following round, the 2025 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix. The team confirmed that former Williams and Alpine reserve driver, Franco Colapinto, would take his place alongside number one driver, Pierre Gasly.
However, in FP1, Ferrari announced that F2 driver Dino Beganovic would take over Charles Leclerc’s car in FP1 at the Red Bull Ring, having been handed his FP1 debut earlier in the year, in Bahrain.
Aside from these changes, all the drivers from the start of the season took to the track during FP1, FP2, FP3, Qualifying, and the Grand Prix.
Tyre choices
For the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix, Pirelli stuck with the same trio of compounds as last year: the C3 (Hard), C4 (Medium), and C5 (Soft). It’s the softest combination available, but one well suited to the unique demands of the Red Bull Ring—a circuit that’s short, fast, and deceptively punishing on tyres. Though the surface is aged and highly abrasive, wear itself isn’t the main concern here. Instead, it’s thermal degradation, particularly on the rear tyres.
The layout’s rhythm of heavy braking followed by sharp acceleration zones—especially through Turns 1, 3, and 4—creates hotspots that spike temperatures quickly. With relatively few corners and low lateral loads, it’s not sidewall stress teams will be monitoring, but rather how well they can manage overheating. Factor in Austria’s typically high summer temperatures, and tyre cooling becomes just as critical as outright grip. Expect a balance between pace and tyre preservation to be key as teams decide when and how aggressively to push on race day.
FIND OUT MORE
Free Practice
In FP1…
During FP2…
In FP3…
Free Practice 1 Classification
FP1 was held on 27 June 2025 from 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm local time.
Free Practice 2 Classification
FP2 was held on 27 June 2025 from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm local time.
Free Practice 3 Classification
FP3 was held on 28 June 2025 from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm local time.
Qualifying
In Quali…
Full Qualifying Report
Qualifying Classification
Qualifying was held on 28 June 2025 from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm local time.
2025 Austrian Grand Prix Starting Grid
The Grand Prix starting grid, with or without penalties, after the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying session.
What happened in the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix?
Race report…
2025 Austrian Grand Prix race results
The 2025 Austrian Grand Prix Race was held on 29 June 2025 at 2:00 pm local time.
2025 Austrian Grand Prix Fastest Laps
2025 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings for Drivers’ and Teams after the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix.
2025 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings
2025 Post-Race F1 Constructors’ Championship Standings
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