Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel says the key to master the short Red Bull Ring circuit, which plays host to this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, is to find a good rhythm around the 2.688-mile venue.
Having made its return to the F1 calendar in 2014, the Spielberg track sees drivers set the lowest lap times of the year as they dip below the 70-second mark.
Following recent resurfacing works at the Red Bull Ring and steady improvement from the current breed of 1.6-litre V6 turbocharged cars, the lap record - a 1m07.908s clocked by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in 2003 - is even expected to fall.
“The Austrian track is very short, there’s not that many corners,” Vettel said. “It’s incredibly important obviously to get every corner right. I think there's about only seven or eight corners [actually nine].
“The lap is fairly short so you do a lot of them [71 during the grand prix]. It’s important to find a rhythm pretty quickly and just go with it, especially in the race. When you start [a lap] on the wrong foot, it’s quite difficult to recover on that same lap.”
Ferrari has yet to secure a podium finish since Austria came back to the F1 schedule, with Vettel claiming the team's best result of fourth place last year.
Chris Medland's 2016 Austrian Grand Prix preview
Exclusive Felipe Massa Q&A on a Williams resurgence and his future
Romain Grosjean interview: I can stop Haas sliding
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has made it clear: Formula 1 must rediscover the…
Sergio Perez isn’t taking lightly the suggestion that his return to Formula 1 with Cadillac…
While Aston Martin’s F1 car is currently giving Fernando Alonso some massive engine vibrations and…
For a driver who has spent years bending F1 to his will, Max Verstappen suddenly…
For Carlos Sainz, what was meant to be a strong second season at Williams is…
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has delivered another withering verdict on Formula 1’s 2026 regulations…