2025 Austrian Grand Prix strategy briefing: All the data to follow the race with – RaceFans
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| Written by Keith Collantine
Lando Norris is on pole position and poised to cut into his team mate’s championship points lead at the Austrian Grand Prix.
But how likely is he to keep his lead at the start, what are the strategy options available to the drivers and how will the race affect the championship? Here are all the key data points for the race.
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Warm conditions were expected throughout the race weekend at the Red Bull Ring, but they did not materialise to begin with. The first practice session in particular was cooler than expected and the heat-averse Mercedes performed better as a result.
However the heat has risen since then, affecting not just Mercedes but seemingly also Red Bull in qualifying. The bad news for those two teams is Sunday is expected to be very warm, with ambient temperatures pushing up towards 30C. There will be little to no cloud cover, so track temperatures could soar into the fifties.
The pit straight layout at the Red Bull Ring could be considered very ‘normal’. The racing line passes along the left-hand side of the grid where pole position is and the run down to the first corner is average in length.
What often makes the first lap dramatic at this circuit is the long acceleration zones which follow turns one and three. Battles for position are often resolved at turn four, where any driver still trying to hang on around the outside can find themselves presented with the choice of backing down or taking a race-ruining trip through the gravel trap.
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Distance from pole position to first braking zone. Source: Mercedes
Last year pole-winner Verstappen kept his lead with no drama at the start.
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Last year drivers chose the following compounds to start the race on:
Pirelli has brought the same three tyre compounds for this year’s race as last year: The C3, C4 and C5. The remaining tyre allocations for each of the drivers have not been confirmed yet.
A pit stop costs around 21 seconds and as passing is easier at the Red Bull Ring than at many other circuits, teams tend to favour two-stop strategies.
Most of the front-running drivers still have two unused sets of mediums and one new set of hards for the race. Last year most drivers made two pit stops, completing two stints on mediums and running hards for either their second or third stint.
Last year Red Bull had a choice of new hards or used mediums for Verstappen’s final stint and picked the latter. This put them at a disadvantage to the pursuing Norris, who used another new set of mediums to catch and attack Verstappen, who was also delayed by a slow pit stop.
Ferrari’s strong qualifying performance raises the question of how competitive they will be in the race. The SF-25 has tended to be kinder to its tyres over a race distance. That may not be sufficient for them to challenge the McLarens, but they could prove challenging for drivers like Verstappen hoping to regain ground after his disappointment in qualifying.
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The DRS zone layout is the same as it was last year. The activation zones follow turns one, three and 10 and each has its own detection point.
Turn three was a scene of controversy last year when Norris and Verstappen collided. A dramatic collision occured there between three Formula 2 drivers on the second lap of Saturday’s sprint race, which triggered a stoppage, and further incidents followed there later in the race. The corner is bordered by an asphalt run-off which tends to lead to track limits abuses when drivers are battling for position.
Verstappen remains under threat of an automatic ban if he collects one more penalty point. However if he avoids any trouble in the race, two points will be deducted from his licence before the next race at Silverstone.
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There is a fairly narrow spread of maximum speeds among the cars this weekend:
Last year’s race saw a single interruption, which was a Virtual Safety Car deployment triggered by the Norris-Verstappen collision late in the race.
The previous year the Safety Car was deployed immediately after the start when Yuki Tsunoda picked up damage, and a VSC followed on lap 14 when Nico Hulkenberg retired.
Saturday’s qualifying session had to be red-flagged after a trackside fire at the exit of the final corner which appeared to be caused by Lewis Hamilton running wide in his Ferrari. A repeat could cause a similar interruption in the race.
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The grid for this year’s race is as follows. Any changes between now and the start of the race will be added here:
If the drivers finish where they start, Norris will cut Oscar Piastri’s championship lead to 12 points, while Verstappen will drop to 52 points off the lead.
Who is your tip to win the Austrian Grand Prix? Will Verstappen recover to finish on the podium from seventh on the grid?
Share your views on the Austrian Grand Prix in the comments.
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- How Sauber’s strategy set Hulkenberg up to pass and beat Tsunoda: Race data
- McLaren’s warning over turn four move on Norris was “fair” – Piastri
- Red Bull need to understand cause of Tsunoda’s “horrible” race – Horner
- Colapinto given penalty point for forcing Piastri off while being lapped
- Antonelli gets three-place grid drop for Silverstone after taking Verstappen out
Browse all 2025 Austrian Grand Prix articles
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Jere (@jerejj)
29th June 2025, 5:50
Who is your tip to win the Austrian Grand Prix?
– Witthout a doubt, Lando Norris under normal circumstances.
Will Verstappen recover to finish on the podium from seventh on the grid?
– Possible, but easier said than done this time around.
As for tyres, eight Q3 drivers have two mediums & one hard, while Lawson & Gasly have one medium & hard each remaining for the race.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
29th June 2025, 11:50
Interesting to see any difference with D’Ambrosio at the helm.
Crawliin-from-the-wreckage- Special Unhinged Edition (@davedai)
29th June 2025, 12:16
At Ferrari
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