The Red Bull Ring is one of the shortest circuits on the international calendar and one of the easiest to learn: ten corners, clear references and generous run-off. That doesn't make it simple. Being so short, every tenth counts enormously in qualifying and traffic becomes a genuine problem. And since almost the whole lap is climbing and descending, power and traction matter far more than at a flat circuit. In Assetto Corsa EVO it's an excellent place to start racing online: you learn it in an afternoon and the racing comes out very close.
Almost the whole circuit is up and down. Turn 1 arrives after a long climb, so you brake with the car loaded and gripping; turn 3 is the opposite, on a false flat with an open exit onto another straight.
The last sector is what orders the lap: two linked fast rights where the car loads up heavily and where losing the rear means losing the whole pit straight. With a lap this short, traffic in qualifying is a real problem.
Uphill braking with plenty of grip. You can go deeper than it looks.
Salida abierta hacia recta. Sacrifica entrada y gana los metros donde cuentan.
Linked and fast. They set your speed on the straight.
How the lap unfolds from start to finish, with the lines and the places where time is genuinely won and lost.
S1From the line the track climbs continuously to turn 1, so you arrive at the braking zone with the car loaded and gripping hard. That lets you go considerably deeper than your eyes suggest, and it's the first of the three overtaking points.
The exit climbs again towards turn 3, the heaviest braking zone on the lap. Here the exit opens onto another straight, so trading entry for exit almost always pays: the metres you gain multiply on the descent that follows.
S2After turn 3 the track falls away and chains medium-speed corners taken on rhythm. There's no spectacular braking, but it's where you build the speed for the final sector.
Turns 6 and 7 catch out the most people because they look easy: fast, downhill and with an open exit, and losing the rear there costs you all the speed in the closing section.
S3The final stretch is two linked fast rights where the car loads up heavily. It's the sector where setup shows most: a nervous car loses tenths every lap here and, above all, can't get a good exit onto the pit straight.
A strong exit from the last corner is the only thing that lets you defend on the climb to turn 1, so the lap ends where it begins: setting up the next overtake.
What each corner is called, what type it is and what it asks of you.
| Nº | Name | Type | What it asks for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niki Lauda Kurve | Derecha cerrada en subida | Mucho agarre por la cuesta. Se puede apurar. |
| 2 | Remus | Derecha cerrada | The heaviest braking. An open exit onto a straight. |
| 3 | Schlossgold | Medium right | Enlace en bajada: importa la salida. |
| 4 | Curva 4 | Fast left | En descenso, con la salida abierta. |
| 5 | Würth | Medium right | Prepara la parte final. |
| 6 | Curva 6 | Fast right | It looks easy and isn't. A delicate exit. |
| 7 | Rauch | Fast left | Cambio de apoyo en velocidad. |
| 8-9 | Curvas finales | Linked fast rights | Definen la velocidad en meta. |
| 10 | Curva 10 | Derecha | Última antes de la recta principal. |
Taken in the garage · a Huracán GT3 EVO2 parked in the hall
Ten corners, a lap of barely over a minute and three braking zones where anyone can pass anyone.
With a lap this short, the aero compromise resolves in favour of top speed: there are three relatively long straights and few sustained-load corners, so trimming wing usually pays. And with wide run-off, the risk of running a slightly nervous car is lower than elsewhere.
Traction is decisive because several exits climb. A car that spins its wheels leaving turns 1 and 3 loses time twice a lap, and those two losses are what show up in qualifying.
The brakes suffer more than you'd think: three heavy stops in a lap of just over a minute means a lot of repetition and little cooling time. On long runs it pays to watch temperatures.
The short lap and three heavy braking zones keep the gaps tiny and make qualifying an exercise in precision at the limit.
Muy buenas carreras: las escapatorias permiten pelear sin miedo y las tres zonas de frenada dan adelantamientos reales sin necesidad de maniobras arriesgadas.
Probably the best combination for starting to race online. The circuit is learned in an afternoon and it levels the field enormously.
It's an ideal circuit for working on consistency because the laps are so short: in half an hour you build a huge number of repetitions. Focus on repeating the same time ten times in a row before chasing the fast lap.
Work specifically on the exits of turns 1 and 3. They're the two that feed straights and where time multiplies; the rest of the circuit is relatively stable.
Practise overtaking in traffic. At a track where passing is easy, the genuinely useful skill here is learning to defend without committing an infringement, which is a different skill and highly valued in league racing.
Mountain storms are common in Styria and can arrive suddenly. In the wet the uphill braking zones still work reasonably well, but the uphill exits become a constant traction problem.
It isn't a regular night-racing venue. Without the visual reference of the mountains behind, which help a great deal in daylight, the fast corners of the final sector are much harder to find.
The Red Bull Ring is recent asphalt, wide and uniform, so the difference between a good model and a laser scan is smaller than at an old circuit. What the scan does provide is the exact gradient, which on this layout is the main variable: the slopes are considerably steeper than they look on the map.
The surroundings, with the Styrian mountains behind, are reproduced by photogrammetry and work as genuine references for placing the fast corners of the final sector.
Practically everything. It's a circuit with clear references, big run-off and obvious lines, so what you learn in the sim applies almost literally. That's why it's one of the layouts most used by driving schools.
The three braking zones have identical distance boards, and the technique of going deep at turn 1 using the climb works exactly the same way.
Altitude and weather. The circuit is in the mountains and conditions change fast; a storm can appear in minutes, something the game only reproduces if you configure it deliberately.
And the perception of gradient. The climb to turn 1 is far steeper in person than it looks on screen, and that shapes your confidence under braking.
The Red Bull Ring is one of the most comfortable circuits in Europe to visit: modern facilities, good access and a mountain setting that makes it a destination in its own right. It runs track days and driving experiences throughout the season.
The big date is the Austrian Grand Prix, with a very distinctive atmosphere thanks to the number of Dutch fans who attend. It also hosts MotoGP and DTM. [Confirm dates and tickets on the official website.]
| Official name | Red Bull Ring |
|---|---|
| Location | Spielberg, Estiria, Austria |
| Length | 4,318 km |
| Corners | 10 |
| Direction | Clockwise |
| Nombres anteriores | Österreichring (1969) y A1-Ring (1996) |
| Opened | 1969 |
| What makes it distinctive | Vuelta muy corta y con desnivel constante |
| Main races | Gran Premio de Austria de F1, MotoGP, DTM |
| In Assetto Corsa EVO | Laser scanned, current GP layout |
You don't lose the race in a corner here. You lose it by not setting up the straight.
The original Österreichring, from 1969, was a very fast layout of over 5 km. It was shortened in 1996 as the A1-Ring and reopened in 2011 under its current name, after Red Bull bought it.
It's one of the few circuits to have kept its character despite the rebuilds: still short, still fast, with views of the Styrian Alps from almost anywhere in the grandstands.
The original layout was very fast, over 5 km, with high-speed corners and very little margin. It earned a reputation as spectacular and dangerous in equal measure.
The circuit was shortened and redesigned to meet modern safety standards, leaving the short layout raced today.
After years closed and on the brink of disappearing, Red Bull's purchase brought the circuit back to life and, in 2014, back onto the Formula 1 calendar.
That year's unusual season opened with two consecutive Grands Prix at this same circuit, unheard of in recent history.
The Red Bull Ring is at Spielberg, in Styria, surrounded by mountains. It's one of the most modern and comfortable circuits in Europe to visit, with good access and recent facilities.
It runs track days, driving schools and experiences in the circuit's own cars for much of the year. Being short and with generous run-off, it's among the best choices for a first experience on track.
The big dates are the Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix and the MotoGP round, both in summer. The setting lets you combine the visit with mountain tourism. [Confirm dates and tickets on the circuit's official website.]
It's 4.318 kilometres with only 10 corners, which makes it one of the shortest laps on the international calendar.
At the three heavy braking zones: turn 1 at the top of the climb, turn 3 and, less often, turn 4. It's one of the easiest circuits to overtake at.
That was its name between 1996 and 2003, after the rebuild that shortened the old Österreichring. It became the Red Bull Ring when Red Bull bought it and reopened it in 2011.
Yes, probably the best in the game for starting to race online: few corners, clear references, wide run-off and easy overtaking.
Relatively little. There are three straights and few sustained-load corners, so top speed usually pays better than extra grip.
The Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, a MotoGP round and DTM races, among others.
Screenshots taken by the community in Assetto Corsa EVO. Each caption says which circuit it's from.
The Red Bull Ring is in the 24/7 server rotation. Subscribers vote on each week's track.
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