If you’re heading to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix then you’ll want to know how best to get there. There’s four or five main methods of transport and below I’ll give you my tips on each of those.
Red Bull Ring Location
The Red Bull Ring circuit is located on the edge of the town of Spielberg, in the region of Styria in Austria. It’s also near the towns of Knittelfeld and Zeltweg.
The Austrian GP circuit is about 200 km south west of the capital city of Vienna by car, which is around a 2 hour 15 minute drive.
Nearest Airports to the Red Bull Ring
Graz (GRZ) is the closest airport to the circuit being about 1 hour away by car. But this is a small airport and doesn’t serve many international flights, but may offer some to and from other European destinations.
The biggest local international airport is Vienna (VIE) which offers connections to many international destinations, and is just over 2 hours away by car. There are many transport options from Vienna to the track which I’ll cover below.
Driving to the Red Bull Ring
Driving is an easy way to get to the Austrian Grand Prix. The circuit is just off the S36 motorway and is a little over 2 hours from Vienna or 1 hour from Graz by motorway. As you get near the circuit there will be signs on the motorway that direct you based on the colour of your ticket – Blue, Yellow or Green. Follow those and they’ll guide you to parking that’s closer to your zone.
Parking is free at the F1 weekend and MotoGP weekend, but the earlier you get there the closer you’ll be able to park to the circuit.
Read my full guide to parking at the Austrian GP for more tips and info.
Toll roads
Depending where you’re driving from it’s likely you’ll end up using one of Austria’s toll roads. To avoid delays at the toll booths it’s easiest to pre-pay for these before you arrive.
You can use the route planner on the official Austrian motorway network’s website here. Put your start destination in and the Red Bull Ring in as your end. That will tell you if you need a vignette or toll, and then you can pre-pay online.
Motorbikes
Motorbikes are welcomed, and have priority access at a number of bike-only checkpoints on the roads around the circuit that they will be allowed through.
There’s a dedicated parking area for motorbikes near to the P4 car park. See my parking guide for more infomation.
Buses
Another option is to get one of the dedicated buses to the circuit. These are a great option as you don’t have the stress of driving yourself and as they near the circuit they have priority lanes over normal traffic.
There are two types of buses that go from over 120 different destinations to the circuit on the F1 weekend. T
- Bus shuttle
- City shuttles
Here’s a map showing there pickup locations:
Bus shuttle
There are over 100 different bus pickup locations throughout the Styria, Carinthia and Salzberg regions. So if you live in Austria this is a great way to travel to and from the circuit.
Click here for a list of every bus stop and the different routes available. It’s a big image so make sure you zoom in to see the detail!
This service runs all three days across the F1 weekend. Return tickets start at around 36 Euros on the Friday and go up to around 150 Euros for a 3-day ticket. The further your pickup point is from the track on the bus route, the more expensive the ticket. Just like a normal bus. You need to book these tickets in advance:
The bus shuttle is planned to get to the circuit by a certain time each day, and will depart the track at around 7pm each day of the race weekend. Exact pickup timings for each stop on the bus routes can be found at the link above to book your tickets.
| Red Bull Ring Bus Shuttle Schedule | ||
|---|---|---|
| Day | Circuit Arrival Time | Circuit Departure Time |
| Friday | 10:00 | 19:00 |
| Saturday | 9:30 | 19:00 |
| Sunday | 8:30 | 19:00 |
City shuttle
The City Shuttle offers a similar service but only runs on Saturday and Sunday, and serves the larger cities further away from the track like Vienna, Salzburg, Leibnitz and Graz. There are fewer stops on these routes but the journey are always much longer, so pickup times are going to be earlier.
Click here for a list of every City Shuttle pickup location.
Tickets should be booked in advance and prices start at around 50 Euros for a Saturday return ticket and go up to around 115 Euros for a 2-day return ticket. City Shuttle tickets can be booked at the same link as the Bus Shuttle tickets above.
Here are the circuit arrival / departure times for the City Shuttle across the F1 weekend:
| Red Bull Ring City Shuttle Schedule | ||
|---|---|---|
| Day | Circuit Arrival Time | Circuit Departure Time |
| Saturday | 9:30 | 19:00 |
| Sunday | 8:30 | 19:00 |
Train
The nearest station to the circuit is the Knittelfeld train station which is connected with most major destinations in Austria. Here are some example journey times from major cities:
- Vienna to Knittelfeld: 2 hours 30, 1 change in Bruck an der Mur
- Graz to Knittelfeld: 1 hours 15, 1 change in Leoben
- Salzburg to Knittelfeld: 4 hours, 2 changes in Bischofscofen and Leoben
As a comparison, the city shuttle from Salzburg also takes 4 hours but you don’t have to worry about changing, so it’s probably a much easier option.
Knittelfeld station is around 5 miles / 8 km away from the circuit and that would take about 90 minutes to walk.
So to save your legs, the Austrian GP organisers offer a free shuttle bus service from the station to the circuit. You just need to show your F1 ticket to be able to use this shuttle bus. The journey takes around 10 minutes.
The shuttle bus runs at the following times from Friday to Sunday:
| Knittelfeld - Red Bull Ring Shuttle Bus Timetable | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Day | First Bus | Last Bus | Frequency |
| Friday | 07:00 | 23:00 | 07:00 - 20:00: Every 20 mins 20:00 - 23:00: Every 30 mins |
| Saturday | 07:00 | 23:00 | 07:00 - 20:00: Every 20 mins 20:00 - 23:00: Every 30 mins |
| Sunday | 07:00 | 20:00 | Every 20 mins |
Train tickets can be booked on the official OBB train operator’s website.
Alternatively if you coming from within the province of Styria you can buy a daily Leisure Ticket known as the “Freizeit-Ticket”. This is 13 Euros for a day and lets you take as many train journeys around Styria as you like on that day. That can be booked here.
Park & bike
If you’re driving from a distance away but want to try and avoid the worst of the traffic by cycling the last few km (a great idea) there’s a free park and bike area near the Red Bull Ring.
The parking area is at the Aqualux Therme Fohnsduf. Put that in your satnav and follow directions. Parking is free, and there you can unload your bike and leave your car.
There are well marked out cycle paths that lead you to the circuit, and there’s 3 free bike parks available near the track. It’s around a 10km ride which will probably take you around 30 minutes.
