Austrian weekend: the Red Bull Ring’s 2025 story

Friday, August 15th

Free practice immediately sees Riccardo Rossi stand out, staying just outside the top 10 during the first half of the session. After a pit stop, Nicola Carraro also managed to gain a few positions in the second run, continuing to work on his feeling with the bike ahead of the Q2 target set for the afternoon.

No major surprises during Practice: Riccardo and Nicola continued working on the bike’s setup, focusing on optimizing the feeling and adapting to track conditions. Both showed steady progress in their pace, with improving lap times session after session, in an effort to close the gap to the leading group.

Saturday, August 16th

A few clouds set the scene for the start of FP2, a session in which both riders continued to make the most of every minute on track in search of the most effective strategic solutions ahead of qualifying. Numerous yellow flags complicated the work, making it difficult to find consistency in flying laps. Riccardo Rossi showed solid pace, managing to improve his lap references. Nicola Carraro, on the other hand, dedicated the session to analyzing racing lines, choosing to test different trajectories rather than focus on a Time Attack, with the goal of comparing data with previous sessions.

Q1 got off to the best possible start: an effective strategy and excellent speed allowed Nicola Carraro to finish in 1st position, securing direct access to Q2. Riccardo Rossi narrowly missed qualification, but still maintained a good feeling with the bike.
Q2, on the other hand, turned out to be more complex for the team. The first two laps of Run 1 were cancelled due to a yellow flag, depriving the rider of a useful time to settle in. In Run 2, despite an improvement in lap time, traffic on the track hindered Carraro, preventing him from obtaining a favorable position on the starting grid.

Sunday, August 17th

The race is all about the comeback, with the two riders lining up on the grid in 18th and 21st position respectively. Right from the opening laps, both Nicola Carraro and Riccardo Rossi get off to a great start, gaining several positions. While Carraro manages to maintain a solid pace, Rossi gets caught up in a chaotic phase that causes him to lose ground in the early laps.

After a few laps, Carraro overtakes the rider ahead and moves to the front of the second group, although he remains several seconds behind the leading pack, finding himself in a tough spot to continue his comeback. Rossi, on the other hand, significantly picks up the pace and, despite being at the back, manages to recover numerous positions thanks to his regained speed, closing the gap to the riders ahead.

Carraro’s comeback is cut short in the final stages due to a Long Lap Penalty for exceeding track limits during a battle. Rossi keeps pushing, trying to catch the last riders within reach. The penalty prevents Carraro from entering the points zone, while Rossi finishes the race having recovered several positions from the start.

Comments

Nicola Carraro shifts his focus to the next race:
“It was a race where I struggled, but the team did a great job and I thank them for their work. Now the weekend for the Hungarian GP is about to begin and we’ll try to start off on the right foot.”

Despite everything, Riccardo Rossi remains ready for the next races:
“It wasn’t the easiest weekend, I struggled to find the right performance. In the race I wanted to recover positions but had trouble overtaking the rider in front, losing time. Now we’ll see what Balaton Park is like and aim to approach it in the best possible way.”