"One of my favorite tracks": Franco Colapinto and the Austrian Grand Prix circuit, where he had great performances

The Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix is ​​coming up, and with it Franco Colapinto's fifth race with the Alpine team. A date that initially seemed like a turning point in his career, but it seems it won't be a filter .

Colapinto arrives at the Red Bull Ring feeling good after his performance in Montreal, despite a poor strategy that resulted in him finishing the race in 13th place, having started from the 10th position, his best qualifying position of the year so far.

The Argentine also comes to the Austrian track with a strong track record , having already achieved podium finishes in various categories he's raced in. His most recent was a second-place finish in Formula 2 last year.

This weekend's competition, which begins with action on Friday with the first free practice session at 8:30 a.m. Argentine time, will feature a key ingredient: the start of the European summer, which is bringing prematurely high temperatures that could be decisive for tire performance .

"It has very high-speed corners, and I love very high-speed corners, so it's one of my favorite tracks, " said the Pilar native, explaining the circuit's characteristics on the Renault Group team's social media channels.

In 2024, before moving into the Williams to replace Logan Sargeant , Colapinto had a great weekend in Austria in Formula 2. In the main race, he finished second and led 24 of the 40 laps. The winner was Gabriel Bortoleto , currently at Kick Sauber , and the podium was completed by Isack Hadjar , current Racing Bulls driver.

In that race, the Argentine started from the third box and took the lead on lap eight . Good tire management, something that could benefit him this weekend, allowed him to finish the race on fresh tires on lap 32. He re-entered the track in eighth place and took second place after eight laps.

But Colapinto had already shown his ease at the Red Bull Ring. In 2021, he raced in the European Le Mans Series and the European Formula Regional Series , with cars powered by Alpine engines. In the latter category, he took pole for both races over the weekend and won the Sprint Series. In 2022, already in Formula 3 , he finished third in the Sprint Series and sixth in the main series, and finished 13th and 4th, respectively, the following year.

The Austrian Grand Prix was first run at Spielberg in 1970 (previously the venue was Zeltweg from 1964), when the track was known as the Österreichring , its home until 1987. After a ten-year hiatus, the event was run for a further six years on a shortened version known as the A1-Ring. In 2014, it was renamed the Red Bull Ring.

Of the circuits on this year's calendar, Austria's is the one with the fewest corners (10) and the one with the shortest lap time (1m02s939, recorded by Valtteri Bottas with a Mercedes in 2020).

It is second only to Spa-Francorchamps in terms of elevation change, with a difference of 63.5 meters between the highest and lowest points of the track.

The three sectors are very different : the first is all uphill, with two straights; the second begins with hard braking at Turn 3, before going downhill to the entrance of Turn 7. From there, the track climbs slightly again, followed by another descent to the longest straight and the final two high-speed corners. There are three DRS zones, promising a race full of attacks and overtaking.

The beginning of the European summer can bring high temperatures, but Styria's mountainous location and the forests surrounding the track often cause rapid weather changes, with rain clouds quickly building up. Currently, there is no chance of rain on Sunday, but there is a possibility for Friday.

With very few corners, the track isn't particularly severe in terms of lateral forces exerted on the wheels, according to F1 tire supplier Pirelli. However, in Austria, the degradation is primarily thermal , due to the track layout with several high braking and acceleration points.

Controlling tire overheating, especially on the rear axle, is a significant challenge, especially given the high air and track temperatures that can be present at this time of year.

The most effective strategy during 2024 was the two-stop strategy , with all drivers on the grid starting the race on the medium compound. Only China's Zhou used the hard tyres, starting from the pits. The race was won by George Russell, Oscar Piastri, and Carlos Sainz. Max Verstappen, who finished fifth, had a serious incident with Lando Norris, which prevented him from finishing the race.