FORMULA VEE

The sixtieth anniversary of Formula Vee is to be celebrated at the Red Bull Ring Classics with a tribute to a racing formula that has an unrivalled reputation for bringing on young talent, stimulating technical creativity and launching great careers. While the concept originated in the USA in the early 1960s, a new chapter began in Austria in 1966 – one that was to make significant motorsport history.

With the start of the first Formula Vee races in Austria, the class quickly developed into a regular fixture on the national motorsport calendar. The formula was as simple as it was ingenious: lightweight single-seaters with near-series Volkswagen technology, air-cooled boxer engines and affordable components. This reduction to the essentials made Formula Vee an honest school of racing: it was talent, courage and technical understanding that determined success – not the team budget.

In Austria itself, Formula Vee became a talent factory for extraordinary personalities. Some of the biggest names in the sport such as Niki Lauda, Dr. Helmut Marko, Dieter Quester and Günther Huber exemplify a generation of young drivers who took their first decisive steps in formula racing in Vee. For them, the class was a springboard, a learning ground and a stage on which to shine. Foundations were laid here that led on to Formula 1 and top international series.

Austrian designers and teams also had a lasting impact on the scene. Vehicles were built with great passion in small workshops and developed by engineers and racing drivers who were allowed to implement their own ideas free from external constraints. Designers such as Kaimann and Austro Vau embodied the Austrian pioneering spirit and helped to establish Formula Vee far beyond the country’s borders.

The Red Bull Ring fully embodies this tradition. Here, the spirit of those years lives on, of a time when talented youngsters embarked on their careers with raw courage and sound mechanical understanding. The Red Bull Ring Classics recreates this era, as the historic Formula Vee cars once again take to the track, forging an impressive connection between past and present.

Sixty years after making its Austrian debut, Formula Vee is more than just a racing series of yesteryear. It is a display of living motorsport history – and at the Red Bull Ring, it can be enjoyed in the same authenticity as when it all began.