#AustrianGP 2023: Everything you need to know at a glance

If you’ve made the advance purchase of a ticket for Thursday’s Pit Lane Walk, you’ll have the chance to admire this year’s F1 models up close and watch the mechanics’ practising their pit stop routines. Admission is from 13:30 at the main grandstand* on the home straight (Sectors K-A). Please listen out for announcements made via the public address system.

Before the Pit Walk, you can fortify yourself in the Steiermark Village behind the main grandstand or in the F1 Fan Zone. Both Fan Zones will be open from 12:00. Music acts including Kraftspender will be entertaining the crowds in the Steiermark Village until 18:00. Meanwhile, DJ Reney will be operating the turntables in the F1 Fan Zone (behind the Niki Lauda Turn) until 20:00. Are you interested in the “next generation” of racing drivers? Then you won’t want to miss “Meet the Drivers” with the F2 and F3 drivers on the huge event stage!

* The other grandstands will not open until the start of the official F1 programme on Friday.

As in 2022, this year’s formula 1 programme will also include a sprint race, but this time the format will be different. For you the spectators, it will be qualifying time! Starting at 17:00, Max Verstappen and the other contestants will be battling it out for pole position in Sunday’s main race. The engines will, of course, start roaring much earlier when the Formula 3 drivers come out on track at 09:55 on Friday for their practice session. Friday’s programme also includes Formula 2 action and the Porsche Supercup, in which Austrian drivers Horst Felbermayr and Luca Rettenbacher as well as the BWT Lechner Racing team will be flying the flag for the host country.

The complete programme can be found here.

Even before the first cars and drivers emerge onto the race track, the F1 Fan Zone and the Styria Village will be buzzing (gates open at 08:00). On the event stage of the F1 Fan Zone, the F1 drivers and team bosses will be on hand throughout the day to answer questions put to them by the two presenters Tom Walek und Karina Toth. To make sure you don’t miss anything, save important times (e.g. Meet the Drivers) in your Red Bull Ring app. If you don’t have the app on your smartphone yet, install it now!

Starting at 12:00, the F1 drivers will be competing for grid positions in the Sprint Shootout – and at 16:30 the sprint will be about important World Championship points. The prologue covers a distance of 100 kilometres or 24 laps. The Top Eight will score points according to the formula 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1. During the breaks in the F1 programme, the F2 and F3 series will be providing the action.

Speaking of action, Dario Costa, one of the top aerobatic pilots in the world, will be flying his Zivko Edge 540 above the Red Bull Ring, performing some spectacular manoeuvres that will have the crowd gasping with pure amazement. The airborne entertainment will also feature three brave souls flying jet suits, each powered by five gas turbines. At 18:05, it may be advisable to don hearing protectors as former F1 stars David Coulthard and Juan Pablo Montoya warm-up for the Legends Parade by igniting the retro rockets of historic cars from the CanAm series.

Off the track, you can dance to the music of Lum!x and MATTN (F1 Fan Zone) or Manuel Mascha and Die Aufgeiger (Steiermark Village). Or you may prefer to take on the F1® Esports and F1® Pit Stop Challenges.

Even if you’re not by nature an early riser, it’s advisable to advance your alarm clock setting if you’re coming to Spielberg on Sunday. If you arrive at the Red Bull Ring before 07:00, you will be rewarded with an Early Bird voucher (while supplies last), AND the earlier you arrive, the better your chances of getting on the front row at the Styrian Green Carpet and taking a selfie with your favourite driver.

From 12:25 onwards, it’s just one highlight after another – the Legends Parade, the Drivers’ Parade, the spectacular air displays of the Flying Bulls, the super amazing Jet Suit Show and the Austrian national anthem. Be prepared for an impressive grand opening with more than 70 musicians performing under the baton of mastermind Christian Kolonovits. The two soloists, Christopher Seiler and Juliette Khalil, rank among most talented vocalists in Austria.

Did you know that only seven out of ten beverage cans in Austria are properly disposed of? We think: We can do better than that! You too? Then keep an eye out from Friday to Sunday for the “Jede Dose zählt” (Every Can Counts) stand or the team with their colorful collection backpacks and do your part to ensure that all empty beverage cans end up in the right collection containers and can then be recycled. According to the motto: A second chance for each can! #recyclingohnelimit

Note: Please note that changes to the programme may be made at any time. Download the free Red Bull Ring App on your smartphone and always stay optimally informed.