The Grand Prix circus returns to Austria this weekend after a gap of 10 years. The updated circuit, however, is not what it was and even Formula 3000 drivers have said that it is not a challenging circuit. One side effect of this is that the racing could be closer than ever before.

A lap of the A-1 Ring

The A-1 Ring has one main feature that makes it interesting, the elevation changes. In almost every corner the road is either heading uphill, downhill, or cresting the brow of a hill. As the cars cross the line, the first section of straight is uphill, with the drivers hitting almost 300 kph in 6th gear before braking hard for the Castrol Kurve (2nd gear) on the brow of the hill. From here there is a gentle run downhill and then briefly uphill along the straight (6th gear, 300 kph) before the 2nd gear Remus Kurve. Back hard on the gas for the run downhill to the 2nd gear Gosser Kurve which leads into a sweeping right-left combination started in 3rd and exited in 5th. A brief application of the brakes for the 3rd gear Niki Lauda Kurve. A quick stab on the gas gets the cars into 4th gear before slowing for the 3rd gear Power Horse Kurve. Again the cars run flat out uphill hitting almost 300 kph before cresting the hill and turning into the 4th gear, downhill Jochen Rindt Kurve. Back on the gas for a quick spurt before the 3rd gear A-1 Kurve and hard on the power to cross the line.

Circuit Length: 2.831 miles/4.556 km Race length: 67 laps (189.677 miles/305.252 km)

What happened last time?

1987 Race Results
1.	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	1h 18m 44.898s
2.	Nelson Piquet	Williams-Honda	+ 55.704s
3.	Teo Fabi	Benetton-Cosworth	+ 1 lap
4.	Thierry Boutsen	Benetton-Cosworth	+ 1 lap
5.	Ayrton Senna	Lotus-Honda	+ 2 laps
6.	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG Porsche	+ 2 laps
Pole position:	Nelson Piquet	Williams-Honda	1m 23.357s
Fastest lap:	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	1m 28.318s

The Field

Arrows-Yamaha
Arrows are one of the teams that could pull off a surprise here. The A-1 Ring has been compared to Monaco and Hungary, both tracks that suit the A18 chassis and assuming the Yamaha can stay together, a Hungarian Grand Prix-esque performance from Damon Hill could be likely. That said, Damon has already expressed a dislike for the track but I doubt this would affect his performance. Pedro Diniz should be beaten by the World Champion, but considering the recent turn of events, possibly not.

Rothmans Williams-Renault
Williams HAVE to start winning again here to get their challenges back on track. Jacques Villeneuve has gone from contender to has-been over the last few races, being comprehensively beaten by the improving Heinz-Harald Frentzen in Italy. The Williams pair have not done well on this kind of circuit so far this year so need to readdress their strategies this weekend. Frentzen should come out on top, but if the two cars are running 1-2 with Heinz-Harald leading, he is likely to led Villeneuve through for the win.

Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari
After an extremely poor performance at Monza, the pendulum has swung the other way and Ferrari have the best chance of any team at winning in Austria. With the cooler temperatures in Europe at the moment, excessive tyre wear shouldn't be an issue so that can be removed from the equation. There can be no doubt that Michael Schumacher will dominate Eddie Irvine, the question is, can Ferrari score a 1-2 and put some daylight between itself and Williams?

Mild Seven Benetton-Renault
After a good run at Monza, Benetton are faced with another poor weekend. The B197 has never worked well on this kind of track before and I would expect their performance to leave them at the wrong end of the top 10 in qualifying. Jean Alesi is back on top at the moment, but with Gerhard Berger racing at home for possibly the last time, expect a superhuman effort from the Austrian. I expect Alesi to come out ahead in qualifying but Berger to be the better in the race. Points are possible, but a podium unlikely.

West McLaren-Mercedes
McLaren are another team whose performance at Monza means little here. Since the departure of Ayrton Senna, McLaren have had trouble making a car that is well balanced in slow corners and the MP4/12 is no exception. Both David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen are not happy with the handling on tight circuits and neither will be able to do themselves justice here. I would expect Mika to outquality and outrace David, but the former is most likely to retire.

Benson and Hedges Total Jordan-Peugeot
Jordan have apparently lost the services of Giancarlo Fisichella for 1998, but this won't stop them doing their best here. As seen at tracks earlier this season, when neither driver knows the circuit, the team seems to get lost and performance suffers. This is the cost of employing two inexperienced drivers at the same time, but as nobody has much F1 experience here perhaps it will not be a factor. Giancarlo Fisichella should be the better of the two taking recent races into account, but Ralf Schumacher has raced here as recently as 1995 in German F3 and could well have the edge over his Italian team mate. If the team can get it together, don't count either driver out of a podium finish.

Gauloises Blondes Prost-Mugen Honda
The Prost team are apparently mystified why their performance doesn't carry across from the Friday to the rest of the weekend, but for the A-1 Ring they have a useful advantage, Jarno Trulli. Where most of the current F1 crop who have experience of this track drove it some time ago, Jarno last raced here in 1996. Although the car is different, the Italian knows the track and will be able to share some of this with the team. All this should mean that Jarno will be able to beat Shinji Nakano hands down this weekend and improve his standing in the world of F1. Both drivers are capable of a points finish, but unless Bridgestone have a super-tyre ready I doubt either is capable of reaching the podium.

Red Bull Sauber-Petronas
The dark horse for the forthcoming race. The Swiss team tested here in 1996 and have more track data than any of the current F1 teams. Not only this, but Johnny Herbert was one of the testers and will therefore not have to spend as long learning the track before working on his setup. Johnny will certainly beat Gianni Morbidelli and should be in line for points or even a podium finish.

Tyrrell-Ford
For once, the low powered Ford ED that Tyrrell are using should not hinder them here as much as has been the case this season. The chassis, as is usually the case with Tyrrell, is well balanced and both drivers are capable of extracting the best from it. Despite Mika Salo being signed for Arrowds and Jos Verstappen sure to be confirmed for Tyrrell , neither will be willing to ease off and the customary battle royale between the pairing should ensue. It would be nice to see them score points, but it is extremely unlikely.

Minardi-Hart
Again, there doesn't seem much point in turning up for Minardi. The Hart engine is being outclassed by the big buck opposition and the performance of the chassis suffers because of this. Ukyo Katayama is back on form, but neither he nor the impressive Tarso Marques are capable of making up the deficit even to Tyrrell. Finishing in the top 10 (and as close to the leaders as possible) must be their aim rather than points.

Stewart-Ford
As the season progresses, the performance of Stewart Grand Prix doesn't show any signs of stabilising. From race to race (even on similar tracks) they can be at the top of the time sheets or at the bottom and they seem to be unable to do much about it. Rubens Barrichello (and Jan Magnussen if he can carry on as he did at Monza) is capable of winning races and scoring podium finishes, but the team is generally below where I would expect from a works Ford team. The Bridgestone rubber is the strongest factor in this team and if Bridgestone get it right, points could be on the cards, but only if the engine doesn't explode.

Enjoy the race...