No fans welcome at the Red Bull Ring, though hotels are almost fully booked

In two weeks time the first Grand Prix of the year will be ridden. Because of the corona virus, no fans are allowed to be present at the race, but that doesn't seem to prevent them from travelling to Spielberg.

Last year's images are still on many people's minds: while Max Verstappen catches up with Charles Leclerc's car, the grandstand explodes full of Dutch fans. Of course almost all of them are dressed in orange.

This year things will be a lot different, because although two Grands Prix will be held at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, no fans are allowed on the track. Because of the corona measures, the stands will remain empty.

Still, it doesn't seem to stop the fans from travelling to picturesque Spielberg. According to the Austrian newspaper Oe24 about eighty percent of the hotels in the region are fully booked. Of course part of the bill is taken by the Formula 1 teams, but there would also be a large number of fans planning to travel to the place.

In Spielberg they hope that the fans will not do crazy things. "We have no idea how the fans will behave. They are all welcome in the gardens of the hotels, to watch the Grands Prix together", says Manuele Machner, director of the tourist organisation in Spielberg.