Austrian Grand Prix 2023 tour report

Arriving in Vienna you can’t help but be struck by the grandeur and history of the city. With spectacular churches and palaces around every corner, Vienna has plenty to explore.

Friday evening kicked off the start of the Austrian Grand Prix weekend, with our welcome drinks event. I was lucky enough to host one of our welcome drinks at the rooftop bar at the SO Vienna Hotel, which was 1 of 4 hotels we had clients staying at over the weekend. Das Loft, as it’s known, is based on the 18th floor of the hotel with incredible panoramic views of the entire city. There was even a lightning storm which was incredible to watch from so high up. It made for a spectacular setting for clients to meet each other and our staff for the first time whilst enjoying some complimentary drinks.

An early start followed on Saturday to ensure we got to the track in plenty of time. The Red Bull Ring is one of only 6 tracks that hosts a sprint race in the 2023 season, so it was sure to be an exciting day. Despite the beautiful weather in Vienna, the same could not be said for Spielberg, where the track is based. Nestled up high surrounded by mountains and woodland, the track has its own mini weather climate. The heavens had opened overnight leaving the track damp for the Sprint shootout, which always makes for a more exciting race. The Sprint shootout turned out to be full of drama with the Mercedes of Hamilton and Russel being knocked out in SQ1 and SQ2 respectively. Unsurprisingly Max Verstappen took pole with stand-out performances from Lando Norris and Nico Hulkenburg to place them P3 and P4.

After a lunch break of Schnitzel and Pretzels we took our seats once more for the Sprint Race. With the rain falling everyone bar Bottas chose to start the race on intermediates. A thrilling first lap saw the 2 Red Bull teammates battle it out for lead position on track. Unfortunately for Mclaren fans Lando Norris got caught up behind the squabbling Red Bulls and went into Anti stall at T3, meaning he rapidly fell down the pecking order. After 24 laps, Verstappen crossed the line P1 with Perez and Sainz following.

A long transfer back to Vienna, provided some much-needed rest time for many after the excitement of the day.

Make sure you don't miss any of our latest content, news, offers and more!

Sign up to our newsletter here.

Race Day. The buzz around the Red Bull ring was palpable, with the sun making an appearance once more, everyone was excited for the race ahead. We were lucky enough to have fantastic seats in the grandstand at turn 3 along with lots of our clients. Turn 3 being one of the highest points on track, meant we had an incredible view and could watch the race play out in multiple places on the track. The race was hampered by track limits with half of the grid receiving penalties throughout the race, but that didn’t stop Max Verstappen storming to his 7th win of the season. Charles Leclerc managed to claim 2nd with Sergio Perez making up 12 places to finish 3rd. Several post-race penalties saw Lando Norris promoted to 4th and Fernando Alonso promoted to 5th. After the race finished, we headed back to the coaches to meet everyone and head back to Vienna.

A late afternoon flight home on Monday meant the clients could choose to enjoy a lie-in, or head out and explore Vienna for the morning.

A fantastic weekend enjoyed by all; we are already looking forward to next year!

by Ellie Jones, Operations Assistant

Ready to join us for the next F1 race?

We still have packages available for these 2023 races!