The A1 Ring is the most picturesque race of the year, set in the Styrian mountains. But the track is certainly not the greatest on the calendar, even though one of the greatest circuits ever was there before. The Osterreichring was considered by drivers who drove on it to be challenging, fast and sweeping, but also dangerous. After pile-ups in the 1987 race, F1 left Austria while the circuit was redeveloped. The new version was named the A1 Ring and a shadow of it's former self, with most of the fast corners gone. But tthe A1 Ring / Osterreichring was not the only track to hold the Austrian GP - Zeltweg airfield was used in 1964. It was very bumpy and a great car breaker. But the track was dull and flat, so the F1 circus never returned.
The first Austrian GP was in 1964 at the dull Zeltweg airfield (see above). The reliable Ferrari of Lorenzo Bandini won while the other drivers broke down due to the track's nature. Six years later, 1970, F1 went to the Osterreichring. Jochen Rindt was the star at his home GP, but Jacky Ickx won. Rindt would never race in Austria again, as he was killed at Monza later in the year. The GP was known to produce an unusual winner, and this started in 1971 when Jo Siffert won in the BRM. 1975 was a strange, but tragic, race. Vittorio Brambilla won his only victory here in the pouring rain, and he crashed on the slowing down lap while celebrating in the cockpit! But Mark Donohue crashed his car at the Hella Licht (the first corner) and afterwards a chicane was inserted. The IndyCar greats, Penske, only won one GP in F1 and that was at Austria in 1976, when John Watson won, his first. Alan Jones also scored his first in 1977, the only GP win for Shadow. 1978 was wet again and Ronnie Peterson survived to win. Until 1982, the races were not that spectacular but 1982 saw one of the closest finishes ever. Elio de Angelis held off Keke Rosberg. Alain Prost won in 1983, and Niki Lauda finally won in 1984. Prost won again in 1985 and 1986. Nigel Mansell won in 1987 and banged his head on a gantry en route to the podium. This saw one of the most famous Murray Walkerisms when Murray poked the bump on Nigel's head while showing it to BBC viewers! But that race was the Osterreichring's last after two huge pile-ups at the start. F1 missed the circuit, and was glad when the circuit was redeveloped and it returned in 1997. Jacques Villeneuve won. There was a dramatic incident in the race when Giancarlo Fisichella's Benetton was launched over Eddie irvine's Ferrari. Nobody was hurt. 1998 saw Mika Hakkinen leading a McLaren 1-2, but David Coulthard fought to second after a first lap incident and Michael Schumacher fought to third after going off spectacularly while chasing Hakkinen. There was no luck for McLaren in 1999, when Coulthard and Hakkinen collided on the first lap. Coulthard continued in the lead while Hakkinen fought up from the back to finish third. Eddie Irvine won the race, the closest finish since Monaco 1992 when Mansell chased Senna along the narrow streets. 2000 saw Michael Schumacher being punted out at the first corner by Ricardo Zonta. It was a McLaren 1-2 again.
The S/F straight go downhill to the Castrol Kurve, a bit like Monaco's Ste Devote but with a huge run-off area. There is usually an accident here, helped by the hill. There is a long straight before the Remus Kurve, a hairpin. Incidents happen here, most notably Hakkinen and Coulthard in 1999. It is a good overtaking spot, though. This goes to another straight which ends at the Gosser Kurve, another hairpin. Then there is the simple infield with the Niki Lauda and Power Horse Kurves. Once out of this there is another short straight to the Jochen Rindt Kurve and the A1 Kurve, the final corner. This circuit is the second-fastest on the calendar and has no chicanes, which have found their way into greats like Spa, Monza, Imola and Silverstone, unusual for a modern circuit. Races tend to have many incidents and attrition rates are high due to the straights and slow corners. It is a good overtaking circuit, and with the scenery it is much liked by spectators. But drivers will always prefer the old Osterreichring.
OLD TRACK MAP - THE GREAT OSTERREICHRING (POST 1975)
RACE REPORTS
1999 - COULTHARD CLASH CONTROVERSEY
McLaren don't use team orders (since Australia '98) but they certainly are thinking of imposing them after the Austrian GP. On the second corner, Coulthard tried to pass Hakkinen but collided with him. Hakkinen finished third after a lightning drive. Eddie Irvine won while Schumacher-replacement Mika Salo hit Herbert at the second corner and had all sorts of problems.
The start went well for the McLarens and Eddie Irvine followed. But at the second corner (Remus) Coulthard tried to pass Hakkinen but he hit him, and Hakkinen spun into the gravel. This incident caused the field to squash up and Mika Salo, standing in for Michael Schumacher, hit Johnny Herbert who had to pit for a new rear wing and he lost 4 laps, while Salo had to pit for a new front wing. (Herbert then set about producing the fastest laps of the race, apart from Hakkinen). Barrichello also passed Irvine here. Hakkinen soon got out of the gravel and set about clawing his way back to the front. On lap 9, Ralf Schumacher's great run for Williams ended with a spin into the gravel trap. Alex Zanardi, Ralf's team-mate, finished 16th, yet another disasterous race for him. The two saubers were doing very well, by lap 19 they were 5th and 6th, but it turned out they were on a two-stop strategy (Diniz eventually finished 6th while Alesi ran out of fuel). By lap 30 Coulthard led, then Barrichello then Irvine and Hakkinen was up to 5th. He took some time to pass Frentzen but he was on Irvine's tail when the pit-stops came. Everyone went in but Irvine stayed out. He did some fast laps before coming in on lap 44. It worked and he came out ahead of Coulthard. It was very tense all the way to the end but Irvine stayed ahead. Rubens Barrichello, howeverk, had an engine problem while in fourth. Mika Hakkinen finished third, Frentzen 4th, Wurz 5th and Diniz 6th.
1. Eddie Irvine
2. David Coulthard
3. Mika Hakkinen
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
5. Alexander Wurz
6. Pedro Diniz
FASTEST LAP: Mika Hakkinen (1:12.107)
STAR DRIVE: Eddie Irvine
2000 - MIKA'S BACK!
A McLaren 1-2 in Austria was a dream result, and they now lead the Constructors Championship. Austria also heralded the return of Mika Hakkinen's previous form. The win was essentially handed to Mclaren on a plate - Michael Schumacher was taken out at the first corner by an over-enthuisastic Zonta and Barrichello was down in 7th after the incident. But McLaren may not have it their own way, as a mandatory seal was missing from an eletronic box in Hakkinen's car. The results will be known before the German GP. Another rumour around the paddock wasthat Alain Prost was going to sell the Prost team - probably influenced when the two drivers clashed for the second race in succession.
McLaren began to show their pace right at the start of the weekend. Nearly every Practice session, you would see them at the top of the time sheets. Michael Schumacher has not been at the A1-Ring since 1998 and he has never won here, and struggled to match the Silver Arrows' pace. There was an incident-filled qualifying session, but impending rain never materialised. Once again, the McLarens were at the top and Mika Hakkinen took his first Pole since San Marino. Schumacher could only manage 4th, nehind his team-mate (Barrichello), after a spin. After Qualifying, Eddie Irvine complained of stomach pains and was flown back to London for an examination. Luciano Burti, the Jaguar test driver, took his place.
Burti had a bad start to his race day when there was a water leak in his car. He started the formation lap from the Pits. The McLarens made a clean start and went side-by-side down to the first corner. But behind them chaos reigned. Before the corner, Pedro Diniz swerved to avoid Jos Verstappen. He hit Fisichella, who went into the wall. Ricardo Zonta went in too quickly and punted Michael Schumacher into a spin, who was then clobbered by Jarno Trulli, who had just hit Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello took to the gravel, as did the BARs and Prosts. Then the two Saubers bump into each other, making Diniz spin. But thos further back managed to avoid everything and make up over ten positions. When the dust cleared, it was onlt Schumacher, Trulli and Fisichella who were out. Schumacher managed to start up his car and stopped again on the track. To some, it seemed as if he was blocking the racing line to get the race stopped. But the Safety Car came out and the order was Hakkinen, Coulthard, Salo (started 9th), de la Rosa (12th), Verstappen, Herbert and Button. Verstappen pitted on lap 2 with gearbox problems, but came out soon. The race restarted on lap 3. The McLarens pulled away while de la Rosa passed Salo for third. On the next lap, Barrichello started making his way up from 7th by passing Herbert while Frentzen had an engine failure and spun out on his oil - two Jordans down. On lap 8, Barrichello passed Salo for fourth and Ralf Schumacher pitted to have his nose changed, but he came in on the next lap for lenghlier repairs and stayed in for a number of laps. The first Arrows went on lap 14 as Verstappen finally succombed to his gearbox troubles. On lap 17, 10-second penalties are given to Zonta and Diniz for their parts in the first-corner carnage. Ralf Schumacher also rejoins ... seven laps down. Zonta gets up to his tricks again on lap 25 when he collides with Mazzacane, but both continue, although Diniz took advantage of the situation to pass both of them. de la Rosa's great drive came to an end on lap 32 when his gearbox failed. Barrichello is now third. The main pitstops soon started and the leaders had no problems. On lap 42 there are more problems for the Prost team when Alesi collides with Heidfeld at the first corner. Carbon fibre goes everywhere and both cars are out. Villeneuve and Button had great stops, moving them up the order. Ral Schumacher spun on lap 50 and retired soon after. The 4th-5th-6th chase hotted up, but Button went wide at the final turn, just missing the tyres. Salo caught up with him but could not pass. Zonta's eventful afternoon seemed to come to an end on lap 59 when his Honda blew, but then nearly got run over by the salvage truck! He let his feelings known in a Coulthard-style guesture (it's catching - like when everybody started crying after Hakkinen's Monza incident in 1999). Mazzacane also recieved a penalty at this point. But there was no stopping the McLarens as they went through 1-2, Hakkinen leading. He is back to his winning ways, and the Championship is now very tight.
HAKKINEN INVESTIGATION UPDATE: Hakkinen was allowed to keep the win and 10 drivers points, but McLaren lost 10 Constructors points, giving the lead, once again, to Ferrari.
Picture captions read down from top left.
1. Once the dust cleared, it was clear that Schumacher, Trulli and Fisichella would have no further part in the race.
2. Zonta and Diniz come in for their penalties for their part in the incident.
3. Frentzen's retirement meant both Jordans were out by lap 5 - like at the Nurburgring.
4. The Prosts came together spectacularly.
5. de la Rosa drove a valient race up in third until his gearbox failed.
6. Jenson Button held on to an excellent 5th despite an off - he started 18th!
TOP SIX
1. Mika Hakkinen
2. David Coulthard
3. Rubens Barrichello
4. Jacques Villeneuve
5. Jenson Button
6. Mika Salo
STAR DRIVE: de la Rosa put in a great performance. I was also impressed with Button and Barrichello, who fought with a damaged car.
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