Austrian Grand Prix: Phillip Horton has an 11.5 tip for a podium finish

Short circuiting

After the splendour of Silverstone, Formula 1 heads straight to the Styrian hills above Spielberg for the Austrian Grand Prix.

Austria’s grand prix takes place at the compact Red Bull Ring, an undulating circuit that has just nine corners of note, a few full-throttle blasts, and gravel traps awaiting those who dip a wheel wide.

With lap times of just over 60 seconds it is one of the shortest circuits on the calendar and thus a tenth of a second in qualifying can make or break a weekend – meaning drivers must have pinpoint accuracy.

Return of the Sprint

The weather can also influence proceedings; Austria’s events have been scorched by extreme heat and also beset by torrential rain that sweeps in off the hills – and it can be unpredictable, with varying weather at different parts of the track.

The Red Bull Ring leapt into action during the pandemic, hosting the opening two events of the abbreviated 2020 season, and last year it stepped in to fill a void once more by holding two grands prix. After four grands prix in the space of just over 12 months, Austria is now back to its sole annual race – meaning it is farewell to the ‘Styrian’ Grand Prix – but it is still not quite a normal weekend.

That’s because F1 Sprint is back for its second of three appearances in 2022. It means those who start the weekend on the front foot will benefit because there will be just a sole hour of practice on Friday before the field of 20 dive into qualifying that evening.

Lewis Hamilton finished on the podium at Silverstone, and will be hoping to maintain Mercedes' improvement in Austria

Red Bull stronghold

Red Bull owns the Red Bull Ring – congratulations if you worked that one out – and they certainly put their mark on the event, from the enormous bull sculpture that dominates the verdant landscape to the plethora of their energy drinks available at the venue.

And it is the reigning World Champion who has taken more Red Bull Ring victories than any other driver in Formula 1 history.

Max Verstappen utterly dominated both events during his title-winning campaign in 2021, leading every lap of the back-to-back races from successive pole positions, with winning margins of 17 and 35 seconds respectively.

They marked Verstappen’s third and fourth wins at the Red Bull Ring after he claimed victory at the event in both 2018 and 2019. 

Verstappen’s 2019 triumph came after a stirring fightback from eighth and culminated in a fierce wheel-banging clash with Charles Leclerc – their first real battle for the lead in Formula 1. And the reigning champ arrives with a comfortable 34-point lead off the back of five wins in the last seven races.

Keep an eye on Norris

In recent years one of the star performers at the Austrian Grand Prix has been Lando Norris. Norris scored his maiden Formula 1 podium and fastest lap at the 2020 Austrian Grand Prix and in 2021 replicated the result from his first career front-row following one of the standout laps of the season in qualifying.

Norris also scored the best result of his 2019 rookie campaign in Austria, classifying sixth. It may take one – or more – of the Ferrari and Red Bull drivers to miss a beat but McLaren and Norris have regularly been in the mix for ‘best of the rest’ in 2022, meaning it’s worth keeping an eye on the British youngster throughout the weekend.

Recommended bets

Verstappen for pole @ 2.34

Verstappen win @ 1.97

Norris podium @ 11.5