All the vital facts and figures ahead of F2's visit to the Red Bull Ring 28.06.2018: FIA FORMULA 2 Championship 2018 Round 6 preview: Spielberg, Austria Season Stats 13 Lando Norris’ championship lead over second-placed George Russell. 6 Antonio Fuoco’s streak of points

FIA FORMULA 2 Championship
2018 Round 6 preview: Spielberg, Austria
 




Season Stats


13 Lando Norris’ championship lead over second-placed George Russell.


6 Antonio Fuoco’s streak of points-scoring positions – currently the biggest streak on the grid.


14 The number of drivers who have achieved podium finishes this season


0.166s The margin of Russell’s pole in Le Castellet over Alexander Albon – which ended the Thai driver’s three-race chain of poles.
 



Warm Up Maximilian Gunther – BWT Arden


“All in all, Spielberg will be a special race for me because I’m half-Austrian, and the place is something unique because of where it’s located in the mountains. The track itself has plenty of long straights - especially in the first sector - they’re long and flat-out and you need very good braking and exits in the tight corners, especially up the hill to get all the speed out.



The second and third sectors are completely different, because there’s so many medium and high-speed corners and you need a very good car balance.



“It’s a very nice mix of everything you like as a race car driver, and I imagine after experiencing the first few race weekends that the races will be extremely tight – mainly because the track itself only has seven ‘proper’ corners.



So you need to be watching everyone all the time and pay attention to the details. Turn 2 and 3 will be main overtaking spots, you can make a move into turn 1, but you usually have a better chance in the next corners – the rest of the lap is just about preparing the overtake.”
 



The Stakes        



The FIA Formula 2 Championship continues at the Red Bull Ring for its sixth round of the season. The stunning views and verdant hills among the Styrian mountains provide a perfect backdrop for a circuit that often delivers exciting action.



 Something of a modern classic, the 20 F2 drivers will have plenty of overtaking opportunities to make the difference and, with the championship battle intensifying, the round in Austria will provide plenty of intrigue. Pirelli will supply their soft and supersoft compounds, ensuring that tyre strategy will play a factor in the proceedings at Spielberg.
 


Last time out, F2 enjoyed its first ever races at the Circuit Paul Ricard, serving up plenty of excitement across the weekend.



ART Grand Prix’s George Russell clinched his first pole position of 2018, and the Mercedes AMG Petronas reserve driver converted perfectly in a wet/dry Feature Race to claim his third victory of the season, holding off Carlin’s Sergio Sette Camara in the final stages.



In the Sprint Race, Nyck de Vries took his and PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing’s first win of the year, passing Louis Delétraz for the lead and building a significant advantage over the Charouz Racing System driver.
 

Carlin’s Lando Norris remains at the head of the Drivers’ Championship with 104 points, but had his lead slashed to 13 points by Le Castellet Feature Race winner George Russell, as Sprint Race victor Nyck de Vries moves up to third in the standings.



Carlin also lead the Teams’ standings, 32 points clear of ART Grand Prix – while DAMS occupy third, just two points clear of PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing.
 




Noteworthy



·         The race weekend in Spielberg is the sixth of the 12 rounds which make up the 2018 FIA Formula 2 calendar.


·         The Red Bull Ring circuit was born from the ashes of the former Österreichring - a fearsome 5.9km track – in 1997.


·         Last season, 2017 FIA F2 Champion Charles Leclerc took victory in the Feature Race at Spielberg, while RUSSIAN TIME’s Artem Markelov secured victory in the Sprint Race.


·         Current F2 drivers Nicholas Latifi, Antonio Fuoco and Alexander Albon left Austria with podium finishes last year.


·         In the previous round at Le Castellet, PERTAMINA PREMA Theodore Racing took their first win of the year, courtesy of Nyck de Vries.


·         Campos Racing’s Luca Ghiotto scored his first podium finishes of the season, taking third in both races.


·         Sergio Sette Camara returned from the hand injury that left him sidelined at Monaco, taking second and sixth in the respective races.


·         The Le Castellet feature race was the first race of the season in which championship leader Lando Norris failed to score.


·         The race at Spielberg is the second in a series of three back-to-back rounds.

 

 
 
 
Data (GMT+2)
 
Friday

Free Practice: 13:00 – 13:45
Qualifying session: 16:55 – 17:25
 

Saturday

Feature race: 16:45 (40 laps)
 

Sunday

Sprint race: 11:00 (28 laps)



- Alexa Quintin - photos F2