Verstappen the Austrian king as Ferrari search for Schumacher magic - Austrian GP stats and facts

F1 returns to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix and the second sprint weekend of the season.

Teams will be faced with Friday qualifying before a 100km sprint that will determine the grid order for Sunday's grand prix.

Max Verstappen saw his championship lead take a hit during a thrilling British Grand Prix last weekend, with team-mate Sergio Perez now 34 points adrift in second.

But before we get stuck into the racing action, here are all the key stats and facts you need to know ahead of the weekend.

Length isn't everything...

The 10 official corners that make up the Red Bull Ring layout are the fewest of any circuit on the current F1 calendar.

At 4.318km, it’s the fifth-shortest circuit of the season [after Monaco, the Netherlands, Mexico and Brazil] yet the overall lap time in seconds is the quickest of all. Last year's pole position lap from Max Verstappen was just 63.270s.

A short track also translates to smaller gaps between cars. Since this venue returned to the calendar in 2014, the average pole margin in dry qualifying conditions is just 0.156s.

Another sprint for Max?

The sprint format returns this weekend. It’ll be the second event of the year after the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Verstappen has taken pole position in three of the four race weekends to include an F1 sprint which should prove a good omen, with the pole man having won each of the last four races at the Red Bull Ring.

Mercedes and Red Bull monopoly

Mercedes and Red Bull are the only two teams to win at the Red Bull Ring since its reintroduction to the F1 calendar in 2014.

Verstappen the RBR king

Verstappen is the most successful driver at the venue after winning four of the last six events, although he remains joint-top of the all-time Austrian GP winners' list due to the use of double-headers and the Styrian Grand Prix via the Covid-19 pandemic.

Only four drivers have taken back-to-back victories on Austrian soil - Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher, Nico Rosberg and Verstappen.

If Verstappen triumphs on Sunday, he will become the first driver to win three consecutive races in Austria.

Ferrari looking for Schumacher magic

Ferrari’s last win in Spielberg dates back almost 20 years when Michael Schumacher triumphed in 2003.

Current Scuderia driver Charles Leclerc has fared well at this track with consecutive podiums in 2019 and 2020, but his results have tailed off since, with a DNF, seventh and eighth to show for his most recent efforts.

Verstappen to take Red Bull record

Mark Webber's 129 races for Red Bull make him the most experienced driver with the team, however, Verstappen will equal that tally when he takes to the track on Sunday, despite being only 24 years old.

Since becoming a Red Bull driver, Verstappen has finished on the podium at the Ring each time he has finished, discounting his retirements in 2017 and 2020.

Spanish milestone

The weekend will mark the 500th race involving a Spanish driver, with Fernando Alonso making his 345th start and Carlos Sainz his 151st.

But Austria has not been kind to Alpine driver Alonso in the past. The two-time champion has more retirements than finishes at the venue.

Team-mate Estaban Ocon, meanwhile, will celebrate his 100th race start.

Sundaram Ramaswami -Twitter/Instagram - @f1statsguru

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