| Austrian GP: Where Past Meets Future | |
| by Marcel Schot, Netherlands | |
The 1998 Austrian Grand Prix will be the 21st race in Austria. Although Austria had already hosted non-championship Grand Prix as far back as 1959, The first official championship event was held there on the 23rd of August 1964 and saw Lorenzo Bandini take his only Formula One win. The location was an airport just outside the city of Zeltweg in Southeast Austria. The circuit was short (3.2 kilometers, which is even shorter than present day Monaco) and the drivers had to drive the astonishing number of 105 laps. Richie Ginther in his BRM, who finished just 6 seconds behind with the rest of the field at least 3 laps down, was the only one who could even follow Bandini's Ferrari. Another driver racing in that very first race was a young man called Jochen Rindt, who debuted in formula 1 with a 13th position on the grid.
The first race didn't see a sequel until much later. Only in 1970 Austria got its 2nd Grand Prix. This time the Oesterreichring near Zeltweg was the venue. Moreover, Jochen Rindt was the big favorite, having won the previous 4 races in the season and entering the race with a 20-point lead in the championship. Rindt qualified on pole, but his luck ran out just then. He abandoned the race after just 21 of the 60 laps with engine problems. It would also be the last time he drove a race: Rindt was killed 3 weeks later in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix.
Austria remained on the F1 calendar from 1970 to 1987, with the 2nd weekend of August hosting the Austrian Grand Prix at the Oesterreichring. 1971 saw another future Austrian hero debuting: Niki Lauda. The weekend was completely dominated by Jo Siffert. He scored the first hat trick in the Austrian Grand Prix, taking pole, win and fastest lap with his BRM. Jackie Stewart meanwhile secured his championship while not finishing the race. Ronnie Peterson needed at least a 5th place to keep a chance of taking the title, but he finished just 8th.
The following year a great battle between Emerson Fittipaldi and Denny Hulme unfolded, with Fittipaldi taking the win with just 1.18 seconds between them. In 1973 Ronnie Peterson took the first of his 2 victories. With those 2 wins, Peterson is one of only three drivers to ever win the Austrian Grand Prix more than once (Alain Prost and Alan Jones are the other two).
1975 is yet another eventful race. Mark Donohue crashes during warm-up due to a blown tyre. The crash didn't appear to be very bad, but Donohue died a few days later in hospital. Thus far he remains the only driver who died during the Austrian Grand Prix. When the race started, the rain poured down. After 29 laps the race was stopped, because the rain completely flooded the track. Vittorio Brambilla became the winner while losing control of his car and spinning off the track when crossing the finish line. Half points were awarded, leaving Niki Lauda 0.5 points short of clinching his first world title at his home track.
After Donohue's tragic accident, a chicane was added at the end of the start-finish straight. It was the only change made in the 18 years until 1987. With the new chicane, the track now was 5.942 kilometers long and always good for some very spectacular moments.
In 1978 Ronnie Peterson managed to take his 2nd win in Austria, in style: with a pole position and fastest lap he became the 2nd to score a hat trick and the first to win the race twice. In 1979 Alan Jones managed to become the second to take 2 wins at Austria, after having won in 1977 for the first time.
1980 became one of the closest finishes in history: at the checkered flag only 0.82 seconds separated Alan Jones of his 3rd win. Jean-Pierre Jabouille kept his Renault just in front. 2 years later it got even closer: Elio De Angelis and Keke Rosberg had a mere 0.125 seconds between them with Elio taking his first F1 win.
In 1983 Alain Prost came to victory for the first time in Austria, a feat he would accomplish 2 more times (1985 and 1986). For Niki Lauda, a home victory arrived in the 1984 season, making him the only Austrian winning his home Grand Prix. While Lauda drove to win his home Grand Prix, another Austrian debuted in that same race: Gerhard Berger.
1986 and 1987 appeared to be key-factors in the demise of the Austrian Grand Prix. 1986 is the first year formula One traveled to Eastern Europe, to drive a race on the safe and slow Hungaroring. In the next year the Oesterreichring was packed with incidents. The race needed 3 starts and even though nobody got wounded, it was clear the track has become too dangerous and the FIA decided to go with Hungary instead of Austria. It was not only dangerous to drivers though. Stefan Johansson had a very scary moment when going uphill after the Texaco chicane (now known as Niki Lauda Kurve) where he met a roebuck, standing on the road. Johansson wasn't able to avoid the stunned animal and crashed right into it.
After the 1987 fiasco, Austria was erased off the F1 calendar for no less than 9 years. Last year, though, it made a return on the totally renewed Oesterreichring, now named A1-Ring. The track length was reduced to 4.319 kilometers, the pit-complex was modernized and the corners were made slower. According to those who knew the old track, most of its glory has now faded.
Only one driver who had driven the old track a decade ago, also drove the renewed one last year - Austrian Gerhard Berger. It was also where he announced his retirement from racing, putting an end to a beautiful career that started 13 years earlier, on that same track.
What Happened Last Year: