Feature
PREVIEW: Round 6 takes place in the Austrian hills
The 2026 FIA Formula 2 season continues in Spielberg with the Red Bull Ring hosting Round 6 of this closely fought campaign.
Gabriele Minì is currently top of the Drivers’ Standings while Campos Racing lead the way in the Teams’ Championship, but the margins are tight heading to the Austrian venue.
As we prepare to go racing, here is everything you need to know about this weekend’s event…
WHAT TO EXPECT
Free Practice kicks off the Spielberg action with the drivers set to hit the track at 11:05 local time on Friday morning.
They return to the track for Qualifying later in the day at 15:55 local time, setting the grid for both races.
The first of those is a 28-lap Sprint Race which is scheduled to start at 14:15 local time on Saturday morning.
The drivers will get another chance to claim glory in Spielberg in Sunday’s Feature Race, with lights out set for 10:10 local time.
STAT PACK
Since 2022, Formula 2 has staged eight races at Spielberg, producing seven different winning teams. Hitech is the only outfit to have won more than once at the Red Bull Ring.
Campos Racing’s five wins this season are the most in the paddock, with Invicta Racing (2) the only other team to have won more than once.
Campos and Rodin Motorsport are tied for the most podiums this season with seven.
In three of the last four Spielberg Feature Races, victory has gone to the driver who qualified third – Logan Sargeant in 2022, Gabriel Bortoleto in 2024, and Richard Verschoor in 2025.
FROM THE GRID – Martinius Stenshorne, Rodin Motorsport
“It’s a short track with not many corners but it is still quite a difficult circuit. We have low speed corners and a lot of high speed corners, so it makes for good racing, and usually Turn 3 and Turn 4 are where most of the overtakes happen.
“The difficulties come with getting all the high speed corners right at the end of sector two and in the whole of sector three, and track limits are also a big factor.
“It’s a circuit I enjoy. I have some good memories from there last year, starting from quite far back and getting the win. So that makes it quite a special track.”
TECHNICAL PREVIEW
Pierre-Alain Michot, FIA Formula 2 Technical Director
“The Red Bull Ring is known for overtaking, with long DRS straights making up the first two sectors. But teams cannot focus only on straight-line speed, as the final sector features several high-speed corners.
“As one of the shortest tracks on the calendar the margins will be tight, especially in Qualifying, where recent pole positions have been decided by hundredths, so the teams will know a strong setup is crucial.
“Tyre management will also be critical given the rough tarmac, high-speed final sector and expected high temperatures.”
PIRELLI PREVIEW
Over the weekend in Austria, teams will be able to use the two softest compounds in the range: Soft and Supersoft. The latter could last 7–8 laps at the start of the race before its performance drops below that of the Soft, making a switch more advantageous in terms of pace. However, driver skill in tyre management could extend its use by a few laps, providing an advantage in the second part of the race. For this reason, Feature Race strategies tend to converge in terms of total race time. The Red Bull Ring surface features high micro and macro-roughness due to the age of the asphalt, although this does not significantly affect tyre wear. Grip levels remain good thanks to the rubber laid down through the track’s constant use and improve over the course of the weekend. Attention will also need to be paid to track temperatures and traction phases, which could have an impact on rear axle degradation.