After the daring weekend at Silverstone, Formula 1 arrives in Austria, preparing to compete in the fifth race at the Red Bull Ring in three seasons. The Austrian one is a particularly fast track, but still very different from the one where Carlos Sainz’s first victory recently took place. Traditionally in recent years the Zeltweg circuit has been a land of conquest for the hosts of the Red Bull, being able to exploit some qualities of the Honda-derived power unit that are very useful at high altitude. Ferrari will still be able to count on some arrows in its bow, aiming to further shorten the gap in the championship.
At the Red Bull Ring the three straights stand out in succession in the first part of the track, followed by the extension in the third sector that leads to the two final downhill curves. The long intervals of time spent with the accelerator pedal play in Red Bull’s favor, thanks to an excellent aerodynamic efficiency that places the RB18 on average from 5 to 10 km / h faster on the straight than its direct competition. However, it should be mentioned that the Austrian plant is located at about 700 meters above sea level, a condition that involves a greater rarefaction of the air, whose density is about 10% lower than sea level. All this implies a proportional decrease in the aerodynamic load and drag values with the same configuration, which can be compensated by the use of a higher downforce set-up. However, the rarefaction of the air partially reduces the speed advantage of a more aerodynamically efficient car such as the RB18, thus limiting the disadvantage for the F1-75.
However, there is another important aspect to take into consideration regarding the power unit. Since 2019 the Honda units have performed very well in high-altitude races, with three victories in five Grands Prix at the Red Bull Ring alone. The secret of the excellent performance of the Japanese unit, now owned by Red Bull Powertrain, lies in part in the dimensions and geometries of the turbo, which is particularly effective in compensating for the lower density of the air drawn in from the outside with adequate compression. However, the high-altitude performance of the new Ferrari turbocharger, deeply revised during the winter, is ignored. However, the real extra weapon at Red Bull’s disposal in Austria will be the efficiency of the hybrid system. On a track where the turbo is called upon to perform more air compression work, the supporting MGU-H electric motor draws greater amounts of energy from the battery, making race energy management particularly critical. The Honda unit has been confirmed on several occasions as the most efficient in fueling the hybridmanaging to deliver electric power longer than the competition thanks to an excellent recovery of energy from the exhaust gases, an element of great use for the RB18s in the home race.
The Austrian leg will be a strong test for Mercedes, after the excellent performance of Silverstone. In England the Silver Arrows have shown that they can aspire to victory, but the W13 will have to confirm its performance even in different conditions, given that one of the critical issues was bringing the car into the correct operating window. At the Red Bull Ring Mercedes will have to deal with high-altitude challenges, but above all with traction curves, although the prerequisites for another convincing performance are all there.
In Austria Pirelli brings the softest compounds in the range available, the C3, C4 and C5, with the declared intent to favor the show through degradation. A rather strategic race is therefore expected, where the scenario of a double stop cannot be excluded. Zeltweg also denotes a substantial balance between the lateral and longitudinal stresses on the tires, but traditionally in the past the wear of the rear left tire has been the limiting element in the race. The asphalt is quite abrasive even without reaching the record levels of Bahrain, while the minimum static inflation pressures remain high, 24.0 and 20.0 psi respectively at the front and at the rear, which however do not equal the values in force at Silverstone.
On the brakes front, the technicians Brembo have classified the track with a severity of 3 out of 5 for the braking system. Of the seven braking sections of the Red Bull Ring, on three occasions the deceleration exceeds 4 g. The most demanding braking is that of curve 1 named after Niki Lauda where, according to Brembo simulations, the cars go from 312 to 139 km / h in the space of about 100 meters, with a deceleration peak of 4.7 g. Once again, however, it is the rarefaction of the air that is the protagonist, as with the same flow rate conveyed to discs and calipers, the cooling is less effective. Zeltweg therefore requires adequate management of system overheating, even more critical with the 2022 regulations, and it is no coincidence that most of the brake failures occurred in recent years have concentrated in Austria in the past.
The Austrian Grand Prix will therefore be the first occasion in which the teams will be called upon to manage the new single-seaters in conditions of thin air, adjusting the cooling system, load levels and power unit management. The Scuderia di Maranello will try to interrupt the recent Red Bull successes on their home track, but in addition to the challenge at the top, another topic of interest will be the technical-political debate behind the scenes. At Zeltweg we will continue to discuss the controversy of flexible funds, the anti-porpoising directive coming to France and the regulations for 2026 engines, the delay of which is increasingly angering Audi and Porsche.
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