F1 teams sent 'severe weather' warning ahead of Austrian Grand Prix

F1 teams have been warned that there will be 'severe' weather at points in the Austrian Grand Prix race weekend.

While the race is not in any danger of being cancelled, thunderstorms have been forecast for Thursday and high heat for those in sweltering race suits later in the weekend.

The FIA’s race director Rui Marques released an official statement that read: “Due to the anticipated severe weather conditions, all teams are allowed to close their garage doors.”

A severe thunderstorm warning has been issued in Spielberg for Thursday evening, coupled with a yellow warning for extreme high temperature. However, on Friday and Saturday there is only a slight chance of rain in Austria with Sunday’s grand prix forecast to remain dry.

The forecast could change as the weekend progresses, so be sure to check out our weather forecast updated regularly here.

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Where does the Austrian GP take place?

The Austrian GP has been held at the Red Bull Ring since 2011, although the track was previously known as A1-Ring from 1997 until 2003.

Prior to this, F1 spent an 18 year stint at the then named Österreichring, which hosted the Austrian GP from 1969 until 1987.

Originally however, the Austrian GP was held at Zeltweg Airfield, where it was used as a track in 1963 to 1968 before it was transformed into the Österreichring.

The Red Bull Ring is nestled near Spielberg in the Styrian mountains, with its location making it vulnerable to changeable weather conditions over the years.

For the first time since 2021, the Austrian GP will not feature a sprint race and instead will return to the standard format of two practice sessions on Friday, FP3 and qualifying on Saturday and the grand prix on Sunday.

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