The Austrian GP gets the green light for 2014

While the Austrian Grand Prix was included in the initial draft of the 2014 Formula 1 season calendar published in September and then in the final version published in December by the FIA World Motor Sport Council, doubts remained due to the lack of validation from the local government for hosting the race.

The Red Bull Ring, formerly known as Osterreichring and then A1-Ring, will be the venue for the return of F1 to Austria after more than 10 years of absence, with the last F1 race held in 2003. Since then, the circuit, as its name suggests, has been purchased by Dieter Mateschitz, the head of the energy drink company Red Bull.

Even if, according to Pitpass, Mateschitz’s initial plan was not to make the circuit a place for car races, he was rather considering using it to store his airplane collection or to transform it into a test track for the automotive industry, races have been held on the circuit since its renovation, with the passage of DTM, F2, and the World Series by Renault.

While the residents near the circuit did not want a Formula 1 Grand Prix, mainly due to the noise and disturbance it caused, the local government has given its authorization for the race to take place on June 22 through a permit for major events. This was reported by Haral Schnedl, a local official, to the German media.

He also revealed that the capacity had been increased to 225,000 spectators for the three days and that this decision cannot be appealed. Since its renovation, the circuit could not accommodate more than 40,000 spectators per day.