Mike, Joanna and Willi share their expertise attending the 2025 Austrian Grand Prix on the Pink Bull Ring.
2026 Austria F1 Tickets / F1 Experiences / Graz Lodging / Austria F1 Fb group
The 2026 Austrian Grand Prix might be held on June 26-28
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Mike from the USA
General, we had a fairly good weekend in Austria, however this race could also be a ‘one and achieved’ in my e book. For reference, I’ve been to COTA and Montreal earlier than. The lack of the dash format was an enormous loss to the in-person expertise and worth, for my part. I want we had waited till they introduced the dash calendar earlier than shopping for tickets.
The surroundings surrounding the Pink Bull Ring was lovely, with a backdrop of mountains, multi-turn views from many grandstands and many elevation adjustments. Comparable if not higher than COTA. The potential of an ideal race weekend is there. The climate was fairly brutal, even for somebody from the southern U.S. It was virtually as sizzling as at COTA. This was clearly out of our management, however the climate virtually single handedly zapped the complete expertise and vibe of the gang on Sunday.
We actually loved the Euro tenting/competition vibes and native tradition on the Pink Bull Ring. The Mercedes truck techno bro pool social gathering factor was hilarious. The airshow and nationwide anthem with the helicopter hanging the Austrian flag was fairly epic. Everybody was very nice general.
The group was fairly stable general, trackside costs had been considerably inexpensive for a big occasion, and the organizers had been fairly lenient about letting followers herald their very own foods and drinks. Crowds and queues had been throughout the realm of expectations for an occasion like this.
We stayed in Graz and took the practice to Knittelfeld every day, adopted by the shuttle bus to and from the circuit. If potential, I’d keep nearer to the observe subsequent time. Graz was an ideal base and far bigger than I anticipated, however attending to and from the observe took round 2.5 hours every time. This meant we had minimal time to see or do something in Graz, and barely sufficient time to seize dinner after an extended day on the observe. This wasn’t helped by the truth that many eating places stopped serving meals after 9pm.
Between catching the native Graz metropolis bus from our resort to the practice station (15-20 minutes), taking the Einfach Raus/Styria leisure regional practice to Knittelfeld (1.75 hours), Knittelfeld shuttle to the observe (15-20 minutes) and at last half-hour to stroll, queue for safety and enter, we misplaced half of every day in transit! Staying in Knittelfeld and solely having to take the shuttle could be way more handy!
We purchased the Pink Bull C,D,E Nook Hopping bundle, the place you sit in a distinct grandstand every day. General we actually favored it, and it was cool to pattern completely different viewpoints. We had been actually stunned by the Begin-Ziel (Fundamental) grandstand on Friday.
I’m unsure whether it is particular to this race, however the audio expertise was on a distinct degree because the sounds of the automotive appeared to resonate throughout the grandstand construction. The views of the pits had been additionally very cool. The Steiermark grandstand on Saturday was additionally actually good, but when I had the selection, I might choose larger up seats in part A or B of the Pink Bull grandstand for race day to get higher views of the infield.
On race day, we sat in part C of the Pink Bull Grandstand and it was general fairly good. The one draw back is that the seats allotted to Nook Hopping packages are fairly low (we had been in row 9). If we come to the race once more, we’d simply do Sat and Solar individually, and check out to decide on the Begin-Ziel (Fundamental) grandstand for Saturday and both the Pink Bull A/B (row 20 or larger) or T3 grandstand for the race. All the grandstands we sat in had entry to water, bathrooms, foods and drinks concessions, and first rate observe audio and visual screens. They weren’t giving out free Amex radios at this race.
I might advocate this location in the event you’re considerably native or primarily based in Europe, or in the event you’re touring from additional away and add a while to discover the area earlier than or after the race. I’m unsure I might be capable to justify solely going to the race if touring a good distance. We added on a roadtrip by way of the Alps and loved this as a lot or perhaps greater than the precise race, to be trustworthy.
General, I’m glad I went, but it surely may be my final in-person F1 expertise. The trouble/enjoyable/consolation ratio is waning and I’m somewhat uninterested in baking within the solar for a number of days in a sea of individuals for an opportunity to observe a mediocre race, all of which requires a good quantity of journey planning and logistics.
Joanna from the UK
Having simply skilled my first F1 weekend as a UK customer, right here’s my ideas for F1/Austria newbies for subsequent yr. We flew in from London to Vienna and stayed in a resort in Vienna, selecting to journey to the circuit by practice every day.
We had T10 grandstand passes for the weekend. Firstly, it could appear apparent however the circuit is hilly! Very hilly! Anyplace from T3 to T8 grandstands, you’ve some critical uphill strolling to do. Coupled with the heatwave and 30° temperatures we had, it made the stroll troublesome (and we had been fortunate to be pretty low down in T10).
I’d undoubtedly think about the elevated price of the coated Begin/End grandstand in the event you wrestle to sit down within the solar. I do know the climate received’t at all times be the identical however Austria in June is at all times going to be sizzling (and with a excessive probability of thunderstorms!).
The shuttle buses from the observe to Knittelfeld practice station had been environment friendly and dependable. Not as soon as did we’ve got to attend for transport. Each time we arrived at Knittelfeld there was a shuttle bus ready, and on leaving the observe there was a queue of buses ready for us. The one draw back was a stroll of roughly quarter-hour from the observe to the shuttle buses. After the race, we had been again in Knittelfeld inside an hour and I’m not a fast walker
Lastly, we stayed in Vienna and though the trains had been ridiculously low-cost (in comparison with the price of UK trains) and the surroundings is beautiful, it’s nonetheless 2.5 hours every strategy to and from the observe. I’d undoubtedly pay extra to remain nearer to the circuit subsequent time as we left the resort at 7am every morning and didn’t get again till 9.30-10pm every night time. Graz was extremely popular once I researched. A great deal of those who had been staying in Graz bought on the practice at Bruck. I hadn’t thought of Graz, however I’ll undoubtedly have a look at staying there if I return to this race.
All in all we had a wonderful weekend and would extremely advocate Austria. Bucket checklist ticked!
Willi from Austria
I had Paddock Membership tickets and general a really completely different expertise than most of you. No queues for drinks or meals 🙂 With a paddock membership ticket you’ll be able to drive on to the principle entrance passing all of the checks. There’s a shuttle that brings you from the car parking zone to the paddock membership entrance in case you are too lazy to stroll for 5 minutes. On the entrance you scan your move and get a wristband. (The parking sticker is de facto powerful to get off after the race!)
You might be greeted with a glass of champagne and might take photos with a duplicate of the driving force and constructor trophy on the entrance. The observe tour on the truck for the drivers’ parade and the photograph safari (at Turns 5-6) had been tremendous fascinating. For the photograph safari, you had to enroll early within the morning since they solely had about fifteen spots obtainable. The pit lane walks every day had been nice as properly, particularly watching the mechanics heat up and seeing follow pit stops up shut.
The F2 and F3 paddock tour with an professional host was one thing for actual followers. Final yr, Christian Mansell defined his F3 automotive and confirmed us how DRS works. This wasn’t included within the tour this yr, sadly. There have been additionally some talks and interviews with F2 and F3 racing drivers however I didn’t attend them.
I really feel that 90% of the friends within the Paddock Membership couldn’t title greater than three drivers. Most friends had been in all probability invited by sponsors or got the tickets. You hardly see anybody truly following the classes. I ended up watching the beginning of the race from the lounge on an enormous display screen. Watching a pit cease from above was nonetheless a spectacular factor to see. Part of the terrace straight overlooks the rostrum, however in fact it was utterly full.
They’d F1 simulators operating the official recreation, however you couldn’t flip off brake help, which made it not very enjoyable. The meals from Do&Co was good with loads of choices, however nothing too particular. Unusually, they didn’t have any Pink Bull drinks this yr.
One of the best a part of the Paddock Membership ticket was truly the complete entry to the help paddock for F2, F3 and the Porsche Supercup. It was mainly one lengthy pit lane, with F2 tents on one aspect and F3 tents on the opposite. You may stroll round freely and watch the groups work on the automobiles. The mechanics had been comfortable to reply questions. We had been there earlier than and after the classes. It was superb to face simply half a meter away from the automobiles as they lined as much as go away for the F1 pit lane. These automobiles are extraordinarily loud. After every session, you might watch the automobiles return to parc fermé and stroll throughout the entire pit lane for weighing. Some drivers had been greeted by family and friends. It was complete chaos when F3 returned and F2 had been coming into the observe on the similar time! You may simply find yourself blocking a automotive or mechanic. Typically you needed to step right into a storage tent simply to get out of the best way. You had been proper in the course of the motion.
Do you get to see F1 drivers? The Paddock Membership ticket doesn’t provide you with entry to the precise F1 paddock, however you’ll be able to wait within the morning close to the paddock entrance (proper subsequent to the Paddock Membership entrance), or attempt to spot a driver from the balcony overlooking the paddock. You may also see into the primary ground of every motorhome from there. There may be one F1 storage tour included which was proper within the morning earlier than a lot of the employees had arrived.
Till this yr, parking proper in entrance of the principle entrance was included with the ticket. Now you must pay €150 further. You get to the freeway pretty shortly after every day, however you’ll nonetheless find yourself caught in site visitors. I solely misplaced about 20 minutes this yr after the race, however I assume that relies upon rather a lot on what number of development websites are on the freeway. This yr it was faster than final yr.
I didn’t must pay something for the ticket, however truthfully I don’t suppose it’s well worth the cash. I might quite pay for a help paddock move (for F2 and F3) and watch the race from the Flip 3 grandstand.
In Transient
The next feedback are from members of our Going to the Austrian Grand Prix group on Fb who attended the occasion.
Conrad: We stayed in Vienna and determined to drive every day forwards and backwards. This was trouble-free on Friday and Saturday, when it took 2.0-2.5 hours every method. After the race on Sunday we bought within the automotive at 6:13pm and bought again to our resort at 11.53pm. 5 hours to get dwelling after the race. We’d undoubtedly think about staying nearer to the Pink Bull Ring subsequent time.
Natalie: First time on the Pink Bull Ring for us. Flew from Bristol to Vienna, then employed a automotive. We stayed in a good looking village known as Steinberg-Oberberg, which is round 15 minutes from Graz. Drove to the circuit on daily basis (took simply over an hour). Parking was nice Friday and Saturday however Sunday it was horrendous getting out of. We had basic admission tickets which had been nice to be trustworthy (other than the queue to get in on race day!). General a tremendous weekend and one I’ll subsequent neglect!
Suzzi: We took the bus from Graz they usually bought us in very effectively however getting out was troublesome as they held the buses again on each Saturday and Sunday. We had been again in Graz round 9pm each days so it was lengthy. If I did it once more I’d take the practice from Graz so then at the least you even have the liberty to remain/ go on the observe after the race. We needed to rush again for the bus solely to be sat for ages ready to get out. Sizzling temperatures and never a lot shade wherever, so you should be ready for it. Such an superior observe although, totally advocate the race itself. We had a blast!
