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101-644: The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg , Styria , Austria . The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from 1970 to 1987 . It was later shortened, rebuilt and renamed the A1-Ring (A Eins-Ring), and it hosted the Austrian Grand Prix again from 1997 to 2003 . When Formula One outgrew

202-519: A Playboy magazine he had taken). Senna's fame meant he rarely had his passport checked, but on a later trip to Argentina , Berger's prank resulted in officials holding the Brazilian for 24 hours. As a response to this gag, Senna superglued all of Berger's credit cards together. Berger's pranks continued at his new team for 1993, Scuderia Ferrari . Specifically, at the Fiorano Circuit a day before

303-502: A racecourse , is a nonpermanent track for sports, particularly road running , water sports , road racing , or rallying . Many sports usually held on race tracks also can occur on temporary tracks, such as the Monaco and Singapore Grands Prix in Formula One . Some evidence remains of racetracks being developed in several ancient civilizations. The most developed ancient race tracks were

404-430: A battle with Patrese. Berger therefore won his last race for McLaren and McLaren's last race with Honda engines. A lucrative offer from Ferrari proved too tempting for Berger who announced before the 1992 Belgian Grand Prix that he would be returning to the struggling Italian outfit. Berger was persuaded by Ayrton Senna (who told him that Honda would leave Formula One at the end of the 1992 season, leaving McLaren without

505-557: A car that allowed him to exploit both his talent and the exceptional power of the BMW turbo engine (1,400 bhp (1,044 kW; 1,419 PS) in qualifying in 1986), coupled with a clever Pirelli tyre strategy, Berger won his first Grand Prix in Mexico using the Benetton B186 . Berger was also on course for an easy victory at his home race, the 1986 Austrian Grand Prix before being forced into

606-571: A different design that complimented the livery of the Benetton BMW. In 1987 his helmet was dark grey-blue, featuring the Austrian flag on either side. For the 1995 Portuguese Grand Prix Berger sported a helmet featuring flags of multiple nations. The top was painted to resemble the Austrian flag and "NO WAR IN THE WORLD" at the rear. The special design was a result of a winning entrant for a one-off competition. In 1996 Berger modified his original design with

707-453: A fast train ride to a dinner in Japan. The Austrian was forced to attend the dinner wearing a tuxedo with running shoes. A further incident followed in which Berger replaced Senna's passport photo with what Ron Dennis described as "an equivalent-sized piece of male genitalia" (although other media accounts refer to a black pair of breasts, while Berger contends he snipped a woman spreading her legs in

808-598: A round of the 2011 F2 championship . Formula One returned to the circuit in the 2014 season, and MotoGP returned to the circuit in the 2016 season. The Red Bull Ring also hosted a second F1 event named the Styrian Grand Prix in 2020 and 2021 ; and a second MotoGP event named the Styrian motorcycle Grand Prix in 2020 and 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic affected the schedules of both of those seasons. "At Zeltweg , down

909-427: A short course and a longer course which uses part of the shorter one, usually the main straight, such as Brands Hatch . The Le Mans road race venue is centred on a smaller permanent circuit within its complex. Surfaces include: Race tracks are primarily designed for road racing competition through speed, featuring defined start-finish lines or posts, and sometimes even a series of defined timing points that divide

1010-425: A smooth airflow into the airbox. Consequently, Berger was significantly slower down the straights than teammate Jean Alesi. The Benetton B197 had a lacklustre opening to the 1997 season at Melbourne but the team and Berger bounced back at the 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix , with Berger finishing second having overtaken Mika Häkkinen and Michael Schumacher . Berger then scored Benetton's final Grand Prix victory at

1111-505: A twisty infield section, asked for a setup compromise. As much of the construction work was paid for by the mobile phone provider A1 , the track was renamed the A1-Ring. It proceeded to host seven Formula One Austrian Grands Prix between 1997 and 2003, as well as several DTM races and the Austrian motorcycle Grand Prix in 1996 and 1997. After the contract termination of Austrian Grand Prix,

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1212-519: A works engine for the 1993 season) and also by his countryman Niki Lauda to return to the Italian team in 1993 as Lauda felt Berger brought valuable experience with him from his partnership with Senna. The active ride suspension made the car unpredictable to drive and the Ferrari F93A failed to record a single victory and spent the majority of the season competing for the lower points. Berger's best result

1313-558: Is Nardò where high-speed manufacturer testing often takes place, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway . Some oval tracks are variations on an oval shape, for practical reasons or to introduce varying difficulties such as Talladega (a tri-oval). Most race tracks have meandering circuits with many curves, chicanes and changes in height, to allow for a challenge in skill to the competitors, notably motocross and touring car racing – these tend to predominate throughout most of

1414-495: Is an Austrian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from 1984 to 1997 . Berger won 10 Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons. Berger competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, twice finishing third overall in the championship in 1988 and 1994 with Ferrari . With 210 starts, Berger is amongst the most experienced Formula One drivers of all time. His first and last victories were also

1515-485: The 1966 season as well as the first time Austria hosted the opening race of the World Championship and therefore the first time the circuit hosted the opening round - an honour given to 13 previous venues since the inception of the World Championship in 1950 . The circuit also hosted back to back races of the 2020 MotoGP season on 16 and 23 August, with the second race styled as a one off Styrian Grand Prix . In

1616-400: The 1985 championship , for three laps at Imola before the start of the 2004 San Marino Grand Prix . In February 2006, he acquired 50% of Scuderia Toro Rosso in a deal which saw Red Bull boss Dietrich Mateschitz purchase half of Berger Logistik, a road haulage company founded by Berger's father Johann in 1961. His Toro Rosso team won their first Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel taking

1717-410: The 1985 race . The Österreichring's safety concerns had reached a head in the mid-1990s, and in 1995 and 1996 it was totally rebuilt, at the same site, by Hermann Tilke . Its length was shortened from 5.942 to 4.326 km (3.692 to 2.688 mi), and the fast sweeping corners were replaced by three tight right-handers, in order to create overtaking opportunities. Its three long straights, as well as

1818-517: The 1991 Japanese Grand Prix by Senna; as well as victories in Canada and Australia in 1992. During his three years at McLaren, Berger also obtained four pole positions and out-qualified Senna 8 times. His debut at McLaren ruffled feathers, as he outqualified Senna for the 1990 United States Grand Prix obtaining pole position. Initially, Berger complained of a lack of space in the McLaren MP4/5 B for

1919-435: The 1994 Portuguese Grand Prix where he retired from while leading. Berger was also in the lead at the final round at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix when he made a mistake, letting his former teammate Nigel Mansell pass and win for Williams. A final season with the team in 1995 saw Berger score a number of podiums and was in a race winning position at the 1995 San Marino Grand Prix having qualified second before stalling in

2020-720: The 2021 Formula One season, the Red Bull Ring hosted two races again due to the Canadian Grand Prix being cancelled and the Turkish Grand Prix being postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic . The first of the two was titled as the Styrian Grand Prix , with the second being called the Austrian Grand Prix . These two races a week apart from each other saw Max Verstappen winning both from pole position. Also in MotoGP , following

2121-633: The Arrows A8 which was not the best chassis on the grid and did not allow either to exploit the immense power of the BMW M12 engine. Although he had some good drives (including running 6th in France), Berger would finish the season in 20th place having scored 3 points in the last two races of the year in South Africa and Australia . It was not until joining Benetton in 1986 that his F1 career took off. Finally in

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2222-603: The Brazilian Grand Prix , Berger tangled with Senna at the first corner as the Brazilian found himself trapped between Riccardo Patrese 's Williams- Renault to the left and Berger's Ferrari to the right, with the three drivers dicing for the lead. Berger was lucky to escape alive from a crash during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola 's Tamburello corner, where he went straight on into the wall at almost 180 mph (290 km/h). The car spun multiple times along

2323-914: The Earl of Derby created a horse-racing course on his estate at Epsom; the English Derby continues to be held there today. Racecourses in the British Isles are based on grass, known as turf tracks. In the United States, the race tracks are soil. With the advent of the automobile in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, race tracks were designed to suit the nature of powered machines. The earliest tracks were modified horse-racing courses. Racing automobiles in such facilities began in September 1896, at Narragansett Park in Cranston, Rhode Island . The Indianapolis Motor Speedway

2424-697: The FIA , FOCA , and from Arrows team to race in a Group A touring car race which was a support category for the weekend. He needed the permission as the Grand Prix was scheduled to start at 2 pm on Sunday, 3 November and the Group A race was to start at 3 pm on the Saturday. Driving an ex-Schnitzer BMW 635 CSi (that had finished 2nd behind his own at the Spa 24 Hours) for Australian racing legend and millionaire Bob Jane , Berger qualified 2nd on

2525-768: The Italian Grand Prix at Monza. This remains the fastest straight line speed attained by a turbocharged car in the first turbo era. Berger was also successful in Group A touring cars during this time, racing for the German Schnitzer BMW team, driving the BMW 635 Csi in the European Touring Car Championship . He won the 1985 Spa 24 Hours partnering Italian touring car ace Roberto Ravaglia and fellow Formula One driver, Marc Surer of Switzerland. Until

2626-600: The Japanese and the Australian Grands Prix , including pole positions in both events and the fastest lap in Adelaide , ensured Ferrari and Berger went into the winter season with boosted confidence and both team and driver were tipped as favourites for the 1988 Championship. As he had done to Fabi in 1986, Berger out-qualified teammate Alboreto 12–4 in 1987. Berger's wins also gave Ferrari its first back to back victories since

2727-692: The Monaco GP , and the Circuit de la Sarthe circuit in Le Mans , France. These are not permanent facilities built for racing (although parts of the Circuit de la Sarthe are purpose-built, and closed to the public). After World War II , many wartime airfields, particularly in Great Britain, were left without further use. This coincided with a post-war boom in motorsport, and many airfields were converted to race tracks, where

2828-672: The Portuguese Grand Prix Berger dominated the race from pole position before spinning in the latter stages to finish second after pressure from Alain Prost . The Austrian then looked to be heading for a second consecutive victory at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit for the Mexican Grand Prix as he once again dominated the race but mechanical problems forced him to retire when leading. Success at both Suzuka and Adelaide for

2929-723: The hippodromes of the Ancient Greeks and the circuses ( circi ) of the Roman Empire . Both of these structures were designed for horse and chariot racing. The stadium of the Circus Maximus in Ancient Rome could hold 200,000 spectators. Racing facilities existed during the Middle Ages , and records exist of a public racecourse being opened at Newmarket , in London, in 1174. In 1780,

3030-467: The 1.5 litre turbo engine (Ferrari, unlike the Japanese, had not built a new engine for the season to cope with the lower fuel limit of 150 litres and the lower 2.5 Bar turbo limit, instead fronting with an updated version of their 1987 engine). At the very wet British Grand Prix for instance, Berger led the opening laps from Senna having already attained pole position, consequently building a large cushion over

3131-485: The 1987 race McLaren 's Stefan Johansson narrowly avoided serious injury or worse when at over 240 km/h (150 mph) he collided with a deer that had made its way onto the track while Johansson was cresting a blind brow before the Jochen Rindt Kurve behind the pits. Increasing speeds were also a concern at the Österreichring; during the final Grand Prix there in 1987 pole-sitter Nelson Piquet 's time for

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3232-536: The 1988 Formula One calendar and in the eight races where they were both classified as finishers, finished behind Alboreto only once in France , spelling the end for the Italian after five seasons with the Maranello outfit. For 1989, Berger was joined at Ferrari by Nigel Mansell. The Ferrari 640 with its V12 engine was fast but fragile, thanks in part to its revolutionary semi-automatic gearbox designed by John Barnard. At

3333-430: The 1990 season, which had been designed in 1988/89 for the shorter Senna and Prost. At the 1990 Canadian Grand Prix Berger finished first, around 45 seconds ahead of the eventual winner Senna, but was penalized by one minute for creeping at the start before the green lights. Berger also started from pole position at the 1990 Mexican Grand Prix . In 1990 Berger failed to win a race for his new team, while teammate Senna won

3434-423: The 1990 season. With the arrival of Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in 1996, Berger moved back to Benetton , although the team lost the competitiveness of the previous years. He could have remained at Maranello, but felt that the new Ferrari V10 engine would take too much time to develop. Berger spent his final two years in the sport at the team he drove for in 1986 while also sporting a revised helmet design, with

3535-539: The 5.942 km (3.692 mi) of 1:23.357 set an average speed record for the circuit of 256.621 km/h (159.457 mph). At the time it was second only in F1 average speed to Keke Rosberg 's 258.9 km/h (160.9 mph) pole lap of the Silverstone Circuit set during the 1985 British Grand Prix . Both times were set using a turbocharged Williams - Honda . American driver Mark Donohue died after crashing at

3636-554: The Austrian Grand Prix would return as a round of the Formula One World Championship in 2014 . The Austrian Grand Prix was held on 22 June 2014 . From 2014 until 2016, the track also hosted a round of the Red Bull Air Race World Championship . On 11 February 2016, it was announced that MotoGP would return to the circuit in 2016 for the first time since 1997. On 30 June 2019, in honour of

3737-595: The Austrian flag being rotated horizontally. 1996 proved to be a disappointing season for the Austrian, the handling characteristics of the Benetton B196 not being to his taste. Berger nearly won the German Grand Prix for the second time in his career before his Renault V10 engine blew up, handing victory to Damon Hill in the Williams. Berger's main problem for the early part of 1996 was his driving position that prevented

3838-412: The Austrian flag rotated horizontally. ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) ( key ) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Berger was driving his team's "second entry", and as the team had only entered one car for

3939-595: The Bosch Kurve. Some of the track was just road with little to no protection at all, even up to the final Austrian Grand Prix there in 1987 , a race that had to be restarted twice because of two progressively more serious accidents both caused by the narrow pit straight in a similar manner to the 1985 race when the race was stopped after one lap following a start line shunt that had taken out three cars including championship leader Michele Alboreto 's Ferrari and local driver Gerhard Berger 's Arrows - BMW . In practice for

4040-532: The Brazilian retired. During the 1992 Portuguese Grand Prix , Berger was involved in an incident with the Williams of Patrese. Patrese did not realize that Berger was heading towards the pitlane touched the McLaren's rear wheel and went airborne, narrowly missing a bridge, before coming to a halt in front of the armco of the pitlane. Berger then went on to win the Australian Grand Prix for the second time after

4141-672: The Drivers' Championship for the second time. Towards the end of 1991, Berger found his form in the McLaren MP4/6 – a car he was able to fit in better than the MP4/5B, out-qualifying teammate Senna at the Portuguese , Spanish and the title deciding Japanese Grands Prix (claiming pole position in the latter two events). In 1992, Berger won the 1992 Canadian Grand Prix having overtaken Riccardo Patrese 's Williams and attacking teammate Senna before

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4242-700: The Red Bull Ring are listed as: Race track A racetrack is a permanent facility or building. Racecourse is an alternate term for a horse racing track, found in countries such as the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates. Race tracks built for bicycles are known as velodromes . Circuit is a common alternate term for race track, given the circuit configuration of most race tracks, allowing races to occur over several laps. Some race tracks may also be known as speedways , or raceways . A race course , as opposed to

4343-415: The Red Bull Ring would hold back to back races on 5 and 12 July to start the 2020 season , with the second race styled as a one-off Styrian Grand Prix . It would also hold the first four races of the 2020 FIA Formula 2 Championship and the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship . This made it the first European circuit to host the opening round of a Formula One season since the Circuit de Monaco did this in

4444-465: The Red Bull Ring, would host a round of the 2011 DTM season . The championship has visited the circuit every year since then until 2018. In November 2010, F2 announced that Round 6 of the 2011 F2 championship would take place at the Red Bull Ring. The circuit was reopened at a special event over the weekend of 15–16 May 2011, which included displays of various Red Bull-sponsored teams including Red Bull Racing . The FIA Historic Formula One Championship

4545-517: The Vost-Hugel Kurve in 1975 . In 1976, the Vost-Hugel Kurve was tightened and made into one right-hander rather than two right-handers with a small section between, and in 1977 it was slowed down and became the Hella-Licht chicane, going from the fastest to the slowest corner on the track. It is also known that four-time World Champion Alain Prost often said that all tracks can be changed but that

4646-404: The age of 37, again at Hockenheim , coming back after a 3 race layoff following a sinusitis surgery and the death of his father in a light aircraft accident. As well as the victory, Berger also claimed pole position and fastest lap during the 1997 German Grand Prix . He announced his decision to leave Benetton at the end of the season during the same weekend. He eventually retired at the end of

4747-545: The cancellation of the Finnish Grand Prix in May 2021, the Styrian Grand Prix was added to the calendar on the weekend of 6 to 8 August, one week before the Austrian Grand Prix . The first race saw MotoGP rookie Jorge Martín claim his and Pramac Racing 's first win in the premier class, whilst the second race saw Brad Binder take a shock home win for KTM despite finishing on dry tyres in wet conditions. In January 2022, it

4848-533: The car's available 650 bhp (485 kW; 659 PS) during a race if he wanted to finish. Berger was leading the final race of the season at Adelaide ahead of Prost and Senna before he clashed with former Ferrari driver René Arnoux in the Ligier while trying to lap the Frenchman. Before the race Berger, apparently with the full support of the team, told the McLaren drivers who qualified 1–2 in front of him that he

4949-478: The challenge and as both were spurred on by team manager Ron Dennis , the practical joking escalated. Accounts tell of an incident at Monza where in a joint helicopter ride Senna had been showing off his new tailor-made briefcase. Having been made of carbon fibre composite, Senna argued that it was virtually indestructible. Berger opened the door of the helicopter and threw the briefcase out, to Senna's disbelief. Berger asserted innocently that he only sought to test

5050-412: The circuit and have it renovated, but the idea never came to fruition. By 2007, talks involving Red Bull , KTM , Volkswagen and Magna International for a neuer Österreichring failed, after VW pulled out. Late in 2008, Red Bull began their €70m reconstruction of the track and DTM chiefs considered a return to the circuit in 2009, and in September 2010, it was confirmed that the circuit, now known as

5151-608: The circuit layout usually combined parts of the runways and the surrounding perimeter taxiways. The famous British track at Silverstone is a former Class A airfield , as are Castle Combe and Goodwood . The long runways were perfect for drag strips such as at Santa Pod Raceway . This type of track also appears on the popular motoring show Top Gear , which is filmed at Dunsfold Aerodrome , in Surrey, United kingdom Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger ( German pronunciation: [ˈɡeːɐ̯.haʁt ˈbɛʁ.ɡɐ] ; born 27 August 1959)

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5252-418: The circuit was sold to Dietrich Mateschitz in 2004. The grandstands and pit buildings were demolished in 2004, rendering the track unusable for any motorsport category. In late 2004 and early 2005, there were intense discussions concerning whether the owner of the circuit, Red Bull , would find another use for the site, or return motorsports to the venue. There was a circuit extension proposal using part of

5353-419: The circuit, a plan was drawn up to extend the layout. Parts of the circuit, including the pits and main grandstand, were demolished, but construction work was stopped and the circuit remained unusable for several years before it was purchased by Red Bull 's Dietrich Mateschitz and rebuilt. Renamed the Red Bull Ring the track was reopened on 15 May 2011 and subsequently hosted a round of the 2011 DTM season and

5454-577: The co-owner of Toro Rosso , before selling his 50% share back to Red Bull at the end of the 2008 season. Gerhard Berger was born in Wörgl , Austria. His father Johann worked in his own truck company with Gerhard later working for his father and before being promoted to a driver. Berger, a multiple race winner in European Formula Three , moved up to Formula One in 1984 driving for the ATS team. Berger

5555-451: The crash scene was occupied by two surgeons who specialised in back injuries. The doctors realised the extent of his injuries (a broken neck and some damaged bones in his back) and made sure he was not moved until special equipment arrived. Following emergency surgery, and a stay in hospital in Innsbruck , he made a full recovery. A full season for Arrows followed in 1985 , though both Berger and teammate Thierry Boutsen were hampered by

5656-411: The death of Enzo Ferrari . Berger was also the only non-McLaren to take pole in 1988 when he sat on pole for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone . It was also the only race where both Ferrari cars were on the front row, with Alboreto qualifying only 0.199 behind his teammate. The Ferrari F1/87/88C proved troublesome for both Berger and teammate Alboreto especially in terms of fuel consumption from

5757-420: The final two rounds of the season. The 1987 Ferrari F1/87 benefitted from the work of ex-McLaren designer John Barnard although the car was designed by Austrian Gustav Brunner. Ferrari were back competing for race honours for the first time since mid-1985 from the Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. Berger was running a close second to Nigel Mansell at the Hungaroring before he was forced to retire. At Estoril for

5858-422: The first and last victories for the Benetton team, with eleven years separating them. He was also a race winner with Ferrari and with McLaren . When at McLaren, Berger drove alongside Ayrton Senna , contributing to the team's 1990 and 1991 constructors' titles. Berger retired in 1997 with 10 wins, 12 pole positions, 21 fastest laps and 48 podiums in Formula One. Berger returned to Formula One in 2006 as

5959-428: The grid but his race lasted just 3 laps before he was punted into the gravel trap at the end of the pit straight by the Holden Commodore V8 of local veteran John Harvey . For the 1987 season, Berger signed for Ferrari , partnering the Italian Michele Alboreto and replacing Stefan Johansson . After mechanical failures robbed him of the chance to perform, Berger came on strongly in the latter half of 1987, winning

6060-410: The home crowd Niki Lauda is the only Austrian driver to win his home Grand Prix. He won the 1984 Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring driving a McLaren - TAG Porsche . Lauda went on to win his third and final championship in 1984 , beating his teammate Alain Prost by the smallest margin in F1 history, only half a point. He announced his permanent retirement from driving at the circuit before

6161-409: The hypothesis. Berger later recounted further events before the 1990 Australian Grand Prix . "After dinner, we started to throw people in the swimming pool, all dressed. As I was good at defending myself, I escaped from the bath, but many people got wet. Senna ran away to avoid us from getting him, however, later, I went to his room and he awkwardly threw a glass of water at me. For a Tyrolean , that

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6262-458: The late Gilles Villeneuve won the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix in 1981 . In 1988 , the McLaren team, with twice World Champion Alain Prost and the sensationally fast Ayrton Senna dominated the season, winning 15 of the 16 rounds. The Honda V6 turbo engine in the McLaren MP4/4 , and Lotus 's 100T had superior fuel efficiency to the Ferrari, which caused both Berger and Alboreto to often drive much slower than possible in races. Berger

6363-418: The late 3-time Formula One World Champion Niki Lauda , the first turn of the track was renamed the "Niki Lauda Turn". On 30 May 2020, it was reported that the Austrian government had given permission for two Formula One races to be held on 5 and 12 July 2020 respectively to kick off the 2020 Formula One season after its start had been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic . On 2 June 2020, Formula One confirmed

6464-472: The launch of that season's new F1 car, Berger and his then new teammate, Jean Alesi , decided to take a nearby roadcar for a spin. Unbeknownst to them, that roadcar was team director Jean Todt 's new specially made Lancia Y10 . Because of the view that Alesi was driving conservatively, Berger decided to apply the handbrake causing the Lancia to flip upon their return to the pits, skidding upside down centimeters away from their yet-to-be unveiled new F1 car. Alesi

6565-407: The long straight to the Bosch Kurve, the car was throwing out 1400 bhp and just kept on pushing – you felt like you were sitting on a rocket." Gerhard Berger (speaking in 2007) on the turbocharged Benetton - BMW he drove in F1 in the 1986 season . Originally built in 1969 to replace the bland and bumpy Zeltweg Airfield circuit located just across the expressway, the Österreichring track

6666-415: The lowest turbo boost setting they had (approximately 2.0 bar) and reduce their engine's revs in order to get the cars to the finish of a race. Until changes were made to the Ferrari's V6 engine late in the season, this meant that Berger and Alboreto were often vulnerable to attack from the leading atmospheric cars, with Berger estimating that he could often only use 550 bhp (410 kW; 558 PS) of

6767-442: The mid-1980s when teams began stopping their drivers competing in other categories of racing (primarily due to the risk involved), it was not uncommon for a Grand Prix driver to race in sports and touring cars. However, by 1985 Formula One drivers were not permitted race in any other category within 24 hours of the start of a Grand Prix. At the season ending 1985 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide , Berger had to obtain permission from

6868-421: The offer for a number of reasons, not least because of the new regulations for grooved tyres which the Austrian did not find inspiring. During the years that Berger was at McLaren (1990–1992), he became most famous for his humorous side. Popular accounts tell of many ingenious practical jokes thought up by the Austrian to break through to his serious, focused and unyielding teammate Ayrton Senna . Senna accepted

6969-406: The old Österreichring. In January 2005, return of motorsports seemed more unlikely than ever, as Dietrich Mateschitz publicly announced that he had no intention of wasting money on a deficient circuit. Throughout 2005 however, there was speculation of the newly founded Red Bull Racing renovating the track to use it as a test venue. In 2006, Austrian racing driver Alexander Wurz claimed he would buy

7070-453: The pits but the fastest lap was a mere consolation. A particularly audacious pass on Damon Hill in Canada was just one example of his strong racecraft. Berger produced another aggressive drive for third having received a 10-second stop-go penalty for a jump start and then climbing up through the field from 14th position at the 1995 German Grand Prix , making a number of overtakings on the way. At Monza both Ferrari drivers were in contention for

7171-442: The pits from a comfortable lead with a flat battery. Berger out-qualified teammate Teo Fabi 12–4 in 1986 though Fabi, who as a Rookie had qualified on the pole for the 1983 Indianapolis 500 , took pole at the faster Österreichring and Monza circuits. Berger established himself as a very fast driver in Formula One that year, recording the fastest speed trap of the season, clocking an incredible 351.22 km/h (218.23 mph) at

7272-610: The rest of the field before having to slow just to finish (at the halfway mark he was in 2nd place, 50 seconds in front of 3rd placed Nigel Mansell). Ultimately he finished in 9th position, having fallen from 5th after running out of fuel coming out of the Woodcote chicane on the last lap, with Alboreto already having run out of fuel 3 laps from the finish. In the space of 200 metres Berger was passed by Nelson Piquet (Lotus), Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever (Arrows) and Riccardo Patrese (Williams). Both Ferrari drivers were often forced to use

7373-401: The run to the Bosch Kurve. There were other testing corners such as Voest-Hugel, which was a flat-out 290 km/h (180 mph) right-hander that eventually led to the 240 km/h (150 mph) Sebring-Auspuff Kurve (this corner had many names over the years, Dr. Tiroch and Glatz Kurve were others) which was an essential corner to get right because of the long straight afterwards that led to

7474-426: The same track, or incorporating many tracks in one venue. Commonly, running tracks are incorporated within general use or soccer stadiums, either permanently visible or covered by stands or pitches. Many horse and motorsport tracks are configurable, allowing different routes or sections. Some venues contain smaller tracks inside larger ones, with access tunnels and bridges for spectators. Some racetracks incorporate

7575-458: The season, his final race seeing him finish a very close fourth in Jerez only seconds behind the victor Mika Häkkinen. In his final season as a Formula One driver, Berger and Alesi out-qualified each other 7 times each with the Austrian missing three races due to illness. Rumours of a Ferrari return for 1998 were false. Sauber offered Berger a drive for 1998 to partner Alesi, but the Austrian turned down

7676-541: The start. Motorcycle rider Hans-Peter Klampfer died after a collision with another rider at the Bosch Kurve (where most fatalities happened) and 29-year-old Hannes Wustinger was also killed after a crash at the Tiroch Kurve (the part that was left out of the present circuit) at a race for the Austrian Touring car championship and this sealed the decision to build a new circuit. Triple World Champion and long-time hero of

7777-574: The track into time sectors. A racetrack for cars (i.e. a car track) is a closed circuit, instead of a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads . Race tracks can host individual or team sports. Racetracks can feature rolling starts , or fixed starts, with associated equipment (starting blocks, cages, wheel traps etc.) They invariably feature a pit lane , and usually timing equipment. Some car tracks are of an oval shape, and can be banked, which allows almost universal spectator views or high speed racing (cycling, stock cars). A famous one

7878-424: The traditional gear stick transmission used in all other F1 cars in 1989. With the exception of the Australian Grand Prix where both Ferrari drivers had poor qualifying sessions, Berger featured in the top four in qualifying and races in all of the remaining Grands Prix but poor reliability and accidents meant that he only finished three races all year (by mid-season the problem with the semi-automatic transmission

7979-571: The wall before catching fire. It took 16 seconds for a rescue crew to reach the Ferrari and put the fire out. Suffering remarkably few injuries, notably burns to his hands and some broken ribs, Berger was able to make it back to the cockpit at the Mexican Grand Prix after missing just the Monaco Grand Prix . Berger attributed this to Ferrari's unique semi-automatic paddle-shift gearbox, saying that his return would have been delayed if Ferrari still used

8080-548: The way of permanent infrastructure other than the track; others incorporate spectator facilities such as grandstands , hospitality or facilities for competitors, such as pit lanes and garages, paddocks and stables. Several racetracks are incorporated into larger venues or complexes, incorporating golf courses, museums, hotels, and conference centres. Some racetracks are small enough to be contained indoors, for sports such as motocross , track cycling , and athletics . Many racetracks are multi-use, allowing different types of sport on

8181-428: The win, when an on-board camera on Jean Alesi 's Ferrari fell into the path of Berger and smashed the Austrian's front suspension after damaging Alesi's car. The departure of both Alesi and Berger from Ferrari to Benetton also spelt the end of the number 27 and 28 era for Ferrari that stretched back to 1981 with Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi only interrupted by the signing of 1989 world champion Alain Prost for

8282-670: The win. He sold his share back to Mateschitz in November 2008. In 2012 Berger was appointed President of the FIA Single Seat Commission. He left the role in December 2014. In March 2017, Berger became chairman of ITR, the promoter of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters . Berger's helmet originally was blue with yellow lines and azure and white details near the visor. In 1986, during his first spell at Benetton he used

8383-638: The world, but especially in Europe. Flatter meandering motorsport courses are sometimes called 'road circuits', originating in the fact that the earliest road racing circuits were simply closed-off public roads. Some car racetracks are specifically configured in a long straight, namely drag racing . True road circuits are still in use, e.g. the Australian GP has been run in Adelaide and continues to be in Melbourne on regular city streets. The most famous of these are

8484-599: The year but was still enough to give him 7th in the championship after being 3rd in 1988. The improvement in form from Ferrari came too late though. At the British Grand Prix it was announced that Alain Prost would leave McLaren at the end of the season to join the Scuderia while Berger decided to sign for McLaren who, with their Honda V10 engines, was at the time the best and fastest team in Grand Prix racing. From 1990 to 1992 Berger joined Ayrton Senna at McLaren. His arrival

8585-618: The Österreichring should remain unchanged, just adding run-off areas would be fine, which eventually did happen up until the original track's final year in 1995. The track was known for having many crashes at the start of races (especially with the 2.15 m (7.05 ft) Formula One's cars wide at the time, until 1992 ) because the start-finish straight was very narrow (about 10 m (33 ft) wide), while most start–finish straights on other tracks were 12 to 15 m (40 to 50 ft) and it did not provide enough space for cars attempting to pass others, especially cars that stalled or broke at

8686-504: Was a circuit hard on engines but more difficult on tyres, because of the speeds being so consistently high. Many considered the Österreichring to be dangerous, especially the Bosch Kurve, a 180-degree banked downhill right-hand corner with almost no run-off area which, by 1986 when turbos pushed Formula One engine power to upwards of 1,400 bhp (1,044 kW; 1,419 PS) in qualifying, saw Derek Warwick speed trapped at 344 km/h (214 mph) in his BMW powered Brabham BT55 on

8787-467: Was forced to retire. In 1994, Berger recovered from the deaths of close friend Senna and countryman Roland Ratzenberger at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix , to score an emotional win at Hockenheim for the 1994 German Grand Prix in the Ferrari 412T , the first win for Ferrari since the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix . Berger also scored two pole positions in 1994, the first at Hockenheim and then at Estoril for

8888-407: Was fortunate to be alive after a serious road accident shortly after entering Formula One. A week after the 1984 season ended, he was driving home in his BMW 323i through the hills above Salzburg when his car was rammed from behind, resulting in it cartwheeling off a cliff. Berger, at that time not wearing the seatbelt, was thrown clear of the BMW through the rear window. By chance, the first car on

8989-603: Was found to be not enough power from the battery which was fixed with the help of team sponsor, electrical experts Magneti Marelli). His first points of the year didn't come until he finished in second place in Round 12 at the Italian Grand Prix . He won the next race in Portugal which was overshadowed by the accident involving Mansell and Senna, and then finished second at the next race in Spain . These races were in fact his only points scored for

9090-423: Was going to go all out and run as fast as he could without worrying about running out of fuel to give a good show for the fans. He did just that and after passing Senna for 2nd on lap 3, he set numerous fastest laps before finally catching and passing Prost on lap 14. From there he put some 5 seconds between himself and Prost before being taken out by Arnoux on lap 28. Berger out-qualified Alboreto in all 16 events for

9191-554: Was invited to provide the headline race attraction with a race on each day for Formula One cars from the 3-litre period. In December 2012, Red Bull contacted the FIA to say the track would be available to host a round of the Formula One World Championship in 2013, after a slot became available following the postponement of the proposed New York metropolitan area Grand Prix of America , and by July 2013, Red Bull announced that

9292-447: Was met with great anticipation as he had proven great form for Benetton and Ferrari. A McLaren - Honda seemed to offer Berger a genuine chance at the world championship for the first time. However, although generally quicker than his predecessor Alain Prost in relation to Senna in qualifying (he often qualified 2nd behind Senna), he was rarely able to match the Brazilian's pace during races. He took three wins in these three seasons, gifted

9393-431: Was nothing, but it did mean that the game was now on. With a hose, we improvised an extension to the fire extinguisher and we put it under his room door at three in the morning. We invited some people to watch and when we pushed the lever, Senna flew out of the window like a rocket. It looked like a bomb had exploded inside the room. The confusion woke many people up, who started to scream at Senna for making so much noise. He

9494-611: Was opened in August 1909. Beginning in the early 1900s, motorcycle races were run on high, banked, wooden race tracks called board tracks . During the 1920s, many of the races on the AAA Championship circuit were run on such board tracks. Modern racetracks are designed with spectator safety being paramount, following incidents of spectator and track marshals fatalities. These often involve run-off areas, barriers, and high fencing. Racetracks are used for: Some racetracks offer little in

9595-437: Was revealed that the circuit would be modified slightly for MotoGP and other motorcycle races, with a chicane being introduced at turn 2. However Formula One and other car racing series will continue to use the current layout. The official lap record for the current circuit layout is 1:05.619, set by Carlos Sainz Jr. driving for McLaren in the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix . As of August 2024, the fastest official race lap records at

9696-539: Was sent to the hospital. Later when Todt enquired about his roadcar, Berger conceded the two had put some "slight curb marks on the roof". The strong connection between Senna and Berger has extended beyond the Brazilian's death in 1994. Berger later acted as an advisor to Bruno Senna , Ayrton's nephew, who made his Formula One debut with the HRT F1 Team in the 2010 World Championship, and subsequently switched to Williams . A hugely popular figure in Formula One, Berger

9797-504: Was situated in the Styrian mountains and it was a visually spectacular and scenic circuit. Although narrow at 10 m (11 yd) in all places, the track was very fast, every corner was a fast sweeper and was taken in no lower than third gear in a five-speed gearbox and fourth in a six-speed gearbox. It had noticeable changes in elevation during the course of a lap, 65 m (213 ft) from lowest to highest point. Like most fast circuits it

9898-464: Was terribly embarrassed." In an Australian hotel room Berger filled Senna's bed with frogs. Senna, understandably infuriated, confronted Berger, who replied, "Did you find the snake?" This incident prompted retaliation by Senna, who then proceeded to put a strong smelling French cheese in the air conditioning unit of Berger's room. On another occasion, Senna and Brazilian compatriot Maurício Gugelmin decided to fill Berger's shoes with shaving foam on

9999-462: Was the only driver to break the McLaren stranglehold in 1988, winning the Italian Grand Prix after Senna tangled with Jean-Louis Schlesser , who had temporarily replaced Nigel Mansell (who was sick with chicken pox ) in the Williams - Judd . Alboreto made it a Ferrari 1–2, finishing only half a second behind the Austrian. This was a particularly poignant victory for the team, as it came just weeks after

10100-576: Was third position at the 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix . Berger had a number of spectacular incidents during the season including a clash with Michael Andretti at the start of the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix and a dramatic impact with the armco at the 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix having just exited the pits. The 1993 Monaco Grand Prix was perhaps where Berger displayed his fighting qualities best of all, obtaining second fastest lap before he attempted an opportunistic move on Damon Hill 's Williams at Loews hairpin while challenging for second position. The Austrian

10201-475: Was up until 2003 regularly seen in the pitlane in his new capacity as Competitions Director at BMW , overseeing their successful return to Formula One in 2000. Berger was the first to drive a F1 car on the new Shanghai Grand Prix circuit when he demonstrated a 2003 Ferrari F2003-GA . On 25 April 2004, 10 years after Ayrton Senna 's death, Berger drove the JPS Lotus Renault 97T , which Senna had used in

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