A new pit facility is being built in Spielberg because of Formula 1: what the status is, what it means for the DTM season opener at the end of April and why there are discussions
The official DTM test in Spielberg on Tuesday was an exciting sight, even apart from the new cars for the 2026 season: This is because the pit facilities at the Red Bull Ring are currently being rebuilt and expanded at a cost of around 13 million euros – and the paddock area in the pit entrance is a major construction site.
The aim is to create more space, as Formula 1 in Spielberg was already very cramped – even without the new eleventh team, Cadillac. The new facility is already taking shape: A large two-storey building has been added to the previous pits at the pit entrance, housing four additional pits.
It is being built where the Medical Center previously stood, which has been demolished. It will now also be part of the new building and comprises two floors. While the building looks almost finished from the outside, the paddock behind it is a hive of construction activity.
“Construction site will be such that DTM will run smoothly”
What is happening there? Directly behind the building, the paddock is being extended with an open area. Behind this is a covered area that is connected to the second floor of the new pit building and blends into the landscape. What looks spectacular from the outside. It will offer more space for deliveries and provide a covered parking lot.
“It will be ready for Formula 1, but not quite ready for the DTM”, At the DTM season opener (April 24 to 26), for example, the medical center will be housed in a container in the paddock so that medical care can be provided.
“The construction site will be such that the DTM can run smoothly,” promises Überall. “And then it will be finalized so that it can be used to its full extent for Formula 1. We are well on the way there.”
Facility to be completed in time for Formula 1
The “mild winter weather in quotation marks” also played a role in the renovation, which began in September 2025, Überall reveals. “And the companies that are doing all this are great. That’s why we’re right on schedule.”
The Formula 1 weekend will take place from June 26 to 28 this year – the new facility is due to be handed over at the end of May.
The conversion of the Schönberghof above the Schönberg straight, from which there is a good view of the entire race track, into a modern five-storey luxury hotel including a sky bar was already completed in February. The costs are expected to be around twelve million euros.
What impact does “disruptive fire” have on the conversion?
Despite the large investment in the facility, there is also headwind this time. Activist Karl Arbesser, who has been campaigning against the racetrack for over 30 years, filed an objection to the conversion last year and is now taking further action against the project with two fellow campaigners at the provincial administrative court.
“We want to ensure that this expansion of the pit building does not result in any expansion of operations beyond the existing EIA approval,” he explains his motives in the Kleine Zeitung newspaper.
How does the Red Bull Ring react to this? “There are always disruptive incidents, but we’re used to that,” says Überall. “It’s not nice, it’s not pleasant, but it’s all good. And we’re not doing anything that isn’t right, that isn’t legally permitted. There are one or two delays, but we have to take that into account so that we don’t fall behind schedule.”
