Autosport Plus

How Red Bull's 'rookie-friendly' home track helped save F1 2020

The Red Bull Ring is noted for its relatively simple layout, which will come as a boost to the sole rookie driver on the 2020 Formula 1 grid. But it has other benefits that were crucial to getting the season going against the tragic backdrop of COVID-19

Alex Kalinauckas Jul 3, 2020, 3:23 PM

As the running gets underway at this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, it's worth considering how important the name above the door at the Red Bull Ring has been to getting the 2020 Formula 1 season going.

By mid-April, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced the cancellation or postponement of 10 races - each loss a blow to anyone missing F1 action and the joyful break it offers from 'normal' life, which has of course been utterly disrupted for so many.

Share Or Save This Story

Author Alex Kalinauckas

Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.