This week’s scorching summer heatwave is set to create brutal conditions at the Austrian Grand Prix. The race at the Red Bull Ring looks set to be the hottest of the year so far with the European country also baking in the searing temperatures that also currently have a grip on the UK.
Like here, temperatures across Austria are currently approaching or in excess of 30 degrees Celcius, and things are only going to get warmer over the coming days. Austrian weather service GeoSphere is currently forecasting temperatures of 35 degrees Celcius on both Saturday and Sunday in Spielberg, the nearest town to the circuit.
There is also not expected to be much cloud cover and a zero percent chance of rain, given there is not likely to be much wind. With the sun beating down on the tarmac, track temperatures are likely to be in excess of 50 degrees celcius which is around what the temperatures were at the Miami Grand Prix back in early May.
Almost all of Austria is under at least a yellow weather warning for heat over the next five days and into the weekend, while some areas have more serious orange warnings in place. That includes parts of the Styria region where Spielberg and the Red Bull Ring are found.
It will be a fierce challenge for everyone at the circuit to deal with, especially as the advice for fans is to stay hydrated, use sun protection and to seek shade where possible. And it will also be tough for teams who will have to add as much cooling as they can to their cars as possible without compromising performance too much.
The conditions will create a stern test for this year’s new engines which already have to deal with significant elevation changes on a hilly track. The high temperatures will increase the risk of failures when reliability has already been an issue for some manufacturers this season, with Mercedes having some worries on that front after multiple power unit failures.
It will also be a challenge for Ferrari who are set to debut their first engine upgrade of the year in Austria. They are hoping it will help bridge the power unit performance deficit they currently have to Mercedes, though reliability will be just as important and they could hardly encounter tougher conditions for the first race weekend where the updated engines will be used.
Lewis Hamilton will be hoping for a performance boost to build on his first win with the team last time out in Barcelona. The seven-time world champion is 41 points behind championship leader Kimi Antonelli and will hope to bridge that gap further in Austria to cement his status as a title contender this year.