2023 F1 Austrian GP: Weekend schedule for the race explored

F1 will soon return to Spielberg for the Austrian GP this year. After a week-long break after the Canadian GP, teams and drivers will once again race against each other at the Red Bull Ring. Fans have been eagerly waiting for another race as the European leg of the season starts now.

The Austrian GP will once again have the new sprint race format. This format was recently implemented by the FIA to further increase the thrill factor of all three days of the Grand Prix, including Friday.

Of course, this comes with the major downside that teams will only have one practice session to gauge their car, its setup, the track conditions, etc. Here is the complete race weekend schedule:

---

Full race weekend schedule for the 2023 F1 Austrian GP

Friday, June 30, 2023

First Practice Session: 13:30–14:30

Qualifying: 17:00–18:00

Saturday, July 1, 2023

Sprint Shootout: 12:00–12:44

Sprint Race (24 laps or 60 minutes): 16:30–17:00

Sunday, July 2, 2023

Austrian Grand Prix (71 laps or 120 minutes): 15:00–17:00

All the times mentioned above are local to the track, which comes under the GMT+2 time zone. Of course, since all the time zones cannot be mentioned here, fans can simply convert the time provided above to their own time zone so that they do not miss any on-track action on any day.

---

Toto Wolff is confident about Mercedes W14's performance in the 2023 F1 Austrian GP

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff feels that their car will perform better than Canada's in the 2023 F1 Austrian GP. The Austrian billionaire explained how the track is difficult to master, even though it looks simple and straightforward on paper.

"It’s a short lap in Spielberg and looks straightforward on paper; several long straights broken up by a range of slow, medium-speed and fast corners. But it’s a challenging one to put together and get right," Wolff said.

Furthermore, Wolff hopes to continue the upward trajectory Mercedes has been on for the past two races. He concluded:

"We will aim to build on the momentum we have generated over the past two races and continue our positive trajectory with the car. It’s a venue where the W14 should perform better than in Canada, but we won’t take anything for granted."

Mercedes recently overtook Aston Martin in the constructors' championship table after getting a double podium in the 2023 F1 Spanish GP. They have 167 points, while Aston Martin has 154. If the Silver Arrows continue to improve their performance, they will somehow reach near Red Bull at the end of the season.