Newly renovated A1 Ring circuit in Austria can become a part of the Formula 1 calendar in the near future. After the track’s renovation, it is now going to be known as the 'Red Bull Ring'.
The track’s facility was demolished after its last Formula 1 race, which took place back in 2003 when it was known as 'A1 Ring'. Red Bull’s, Dietrich Mateschitz, reportedly, rebuilt it at the cost of a nine-figure Euro sum.
Red Bull Racing’s Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber were among those present at the special opening event, showcasing their F1 machinery, along with Toro Rosso stable mates Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari on Sunday, 15 May, 2011.
Since drivers such as the 7 time world champion, Michael Schumacher, and, the reigning world champion, Sebastian Vettel, have recently stated that they would love to see the Red Bull Ring as a part of the Formula 1 calendar soon, the track has obtained F1 homologation status.
“If you look at the new F1 circuits, the ones that came recently and the ones that are coming, one has to say the probability of Formula One returning to Spielberg [the site of the Red Bull Ring] is more than minor”, said Mateschitz.
The sport's commercial boss replied "why not?" when asked if the Austrian venue could once again play host to an F1 Grand Prix, now that it has been extensively refurbished by the energy drinks giant.
"This (refurbishment) should have been done 10 years ago," added Ecclestone. "Without the rain I might have never realised it's the same area."
The original circuit, then known as the Osterreichring, opened in 1969 and staged its first Grand Prix the following year, with local hero Jochen Rindt drawing massive crowds. Austria’s other world champion, Niki Lauda, won his home event there in 1984 and he returned on Sunday to win again in a special ‘legends’ race from compatriot and fellow F1 veteran Dieter Quester.
The track was dropped from the F1 calendar in 1987 on safety grounds, before returning in 1997 as the A1-Ring. It staged the infamous 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, where Rubens Barrichello controversially moved aside to hand victory to Ferrari team mate Michael Schumacher, the man who also win the final Formula One race there in 2003. In 2003, Michael Schumacher was followed by Kimi Raikkonen, who finished just 3 seconds behind him in 2nd place. Rubens Barrichello followed in 3rd place to give Ferrari a double podium finish.
The Red Bull Ring’s first major event will be a round of Germany’s DTM touring car series at the start of next month.
No comments:
Post a Comment