
South Africa F1 dream gets major boost with $410m circuit project targeting 2031
A new privately funded project has entered the race to bring Formula 1 back to South Africa
Round 8 · 26–28 Jun 2026Completed
Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria. Three practice sessions, Qualifying and the Grand Prix. Session times, live stream, weather, results and circuit guide.

Winner
George Russell
Mercedes
1:26:37.979
Weather in Spielberg
SpielbergGrand Prix classification
| Pos | Driver | Grid | Time / status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
George RussellMercedes
|
1:26:37.979 | 25 | |
| 2 |
Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing
|
+1.611 | 18 | |
| 3 |
Andrea Kimi AntonelliMercedes
|
+1.986 FL | 15 | |
| 4 |
Oscar PiastriMcLaren
|
+21.809 | 12 | |
| 5 |
Lewis HamiltonFerrari
|
+26.393 | 10 | |
| 6 |
Isack HadjarRed Bull Racing
|
+29.399 | 8 | |
| 7 |
Lando NorrisMcLaren
|
+31.505 | 6 | |
| 8 |
Charles LeclercFerrari
|
+45.659 | 4 | |
| 9 |
Liam LawsonRacing Bulls
|
+15.334 | 2 | |
| 10 |
Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls
|
+19.030 | 1 | |
| 11 |
Gabriel BortoletoAudi
|
+30.315 | ||
| 12 |
Nico HülkenbergAudi
|
+38.484 | ||
| 13 |
Pierre GaslyAlpine
|
+39.251 | ||
| 14 |
Oliver BearmanHaas
|
+1:02.677 | ||
| 15 |
Franco ColapintoAlpine
|
+1:05.647 | ||
| 16 |
Esteban OconHaas
|
+25.932 | ||
| 17 |
Alexander AlbonWilliams
|
+28.082 | ||
| 18 |
Fernando AlonsoAston Martin
|
+4.833 | ||
| DNF |
Lance StrollAston Martin
|
Retired | ||
| DNF |
Carlos SainzWilliams
|
Retired | ||
| DNF |
Sergio PérezCadillac
|
Retired | ||
| DNF |
Valtteri BottasCadillac
|
Retired |
Pole: George Russell
| Pos | Driver | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
George RussellMercedes
| 1:07.398 | 1:06.979 | 1:06.113 |
| 2 |
Charles LeclercFerrari
| 1:07.543 | 1:07.030 | 1:06.349 |
| 3 |
Lewis HamiltonFerrari
| 1:07.290 | 1:06.994 | 1:06.408 |
| 4 |
Andrea Kimi AntonelliMercedes
| 1:07.083 | 1:06.763 | 1:06.414 |
| 5 |
Max VerstappenRed Bull Racing
| 1:07.407 | 1:07.183 | 1:06.475 |
| 6 |
Lando NorrisMcLaren
| 1:07.259 | 1:06.897 | 1:06.502 |
| 7 |
Oscar PiastriMcLaren
| 1:07.487 | 1:06.890 | 1:06.511 |
| 8 |
Isack HadjarRed Bull Racing
| 1:07.408 | 1:07.086 | 1:06.632 |
| 9 |
Liam LawsonRacing Bulls
| 1:07.385 | 1:07.136 | 1:06.955 |
| 10 |
Arvid LindbladRacing Bulls
| 1:07.549 | 1:07.155 | 1:07.007 |
| 11 |
Pierre GaslyAlpine
| 1:08.038 | 1:07.223 | – |
| 12 |
Gabriel BortoletoAudi
| 1:08.035 | 1:07.293 | – |
| 13 |
Oliver BearmanHaas
| 1:08.061 | 1:07.523 | – |
| 14 |
Nico HülkenbergAudi
| 1:08.066 | 1:07.611 | – |
| 15 |
Esteban OconHaas
| 1:08.231 | 1:07.817 | – |
| 16 |
Franco ColapintoAlpine
| 1:07.894 | 1:08.171 | – |
| 17 |
Carlos SainzWilliams
| 1:08.252 | – | – |
| 18 |
Alexander AlbonWilliams
| 1:08.509 | – | – |
| 19 |
Sergio PérezCadillac
| 1:08.945 | – | – |
| 20 |
Valtteri BottasCadillac
| 1:09.030 | – | – |
| 21 |
Fernando AlonsoAston Martin
| 1:09.942 | – | – |
| 22 |
Lance StrollAston Martin
| 1:10.363 | – | – |
Photo: Fitschy99 · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Red Bull Ring in Spielberg is the home of the Austrian Grand Prix, set in a natural bowl in the Styrian mountains of Austria. The site first hosted Formula 1 as the fast, sweeping Österreichring from 1970 to 1987. Rebuilt in shorter, modern form as the A1-Ring, it returned from 1997 to 2003, then was redeveloped under Red Bull ownership, reopening in 2011 before Formula 1 came back in 2014.
The 10-turn lap is short but punchy. Power matters most early on, where three straights are joined by two uphill right-handers; the second half then flows downhill through faster, sweeping bends, among them the corner named after Jochen Rindt, Austria's first world champion. The elevation changes give spectators sweeping views across much of the circuit, which also hosts MotoGP.
What to watch for: Heavy braking into Turns 3 and 4 at the end of the long straights offers the best overtaking chances, while track limits and tyre wear can decide close battles.

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