Daniel Ricciardo & Max Verstappen: Warm up with the Grand Prix tram

Thousand fans were participating at the highlight of this year’s Schloßberg Greets Spielberg partnership at the main square of the capital of the state of Styria, Graz.

For the fifth time, the top stars in motorsport are to battle for vital World Championship points at the Red Bull Ring in the Formula 1 eyetime Großer Preis von Österreich. Before the first practice session starts in the Murtal valley, Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and Dr Helmut Marko completed an honorary lap of the centre of Graz on Wednesday – in the Grand Prix tram, which has been a fixture in the capital of the state of Styria since April. They were greeted by thousands of fans who did not want to miss out on the chance to take some souvenir photos with the F1 stars by the city hall. Also in huge demand for autographs was F1 legend Mika Häkkinen.

Entrance into the Golden Book of Graz

Together with Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen, the motorsport idol Mika Häkkinen was entered into the Golden Book of the City of Graz. Afterwards, numerous members of the Austrian media had the opportunity at the Red Bull World Graz to find out what aims Daniel Ricciardo, Max Verstappen and Dr Helmut Marko have for the home race of their Red Bull Racing team. Here are the best quotes:

Daniel Ricciardo
(on travelling in the Grand Prix tram): “At the start I was very nervous, as Max was at the wheel. He did well though. I would have liked to have gotten off at the ice cream shop, but he didn’t want to stop.”
(on Graz): “I enjoy experiencing the locations around the events. Especially the regional cuisine. I think I might just treat myself to a schnitzel this evening.”
(on the Red Bull Ring): “It’s a difficult track, and a real challenge. If you make mistakes here, you can’t make up for them. The crucial points are the first and final turns.”
(on his ideal result): “A one-two would be fantastic here, of course. Me first and Max second.”

Max Verstappen
(on Daniel Ricciardo): “Daniel should definitely stay with Red Bull Racing, as he is quick and I really like him.”
(Dr. Helmut Marko adds): “And because next year he will have the best car with us with a Honda engine.”
(on Spielberg): “Spielberg is a super location to have fun, for instance with the caravan race last year. Perhaps we can have a caravan race here in Graz some time.”
(on the fans): “There are going to be 19,000 people from the Netherlands at the Red Bull Ring. It is almost like a home race for me. I hope that it goes better for me this year than last year, above all for the fans!”

Dr Helmut Marko
(on the team’s chances at the Red Bull Ring): “Renault are giving us a new qualifying mode. That should give us up to an extra three-tenths of a second. We hope to be able to move up from the usual fifth and sixth with that. Other than that, we have the hypersofts available to us in Spielberg. That should suit us. We have a good traction and braking stability in the tight turns. We have a disadvantage on the straights as a result.”
(on Daniel Ricciardo’s contract): “We are making good progress, and it is just about details now.”
(on the switch to Honda): “We had positive experiences at Toro Rosso. We are convinced that all the promises will be fulfilled. The resources of Honda are more promising than at Renault. We are optimistic of being right at the front again in 2019.”

Tickets at the circuit from Thursday

Those yet to make up their minds can get tickets for the Formula 1 eyetime Großer Preis von Österreich 2018 at the circuit’s ticket points from Thursday 28 June to Sunday 1 July for the same prices!