Austrian F1 Grand Prix 2017: Start Time, Drivers, TV Schedule and More

After the madness of Baku and the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, the Formula 1 circus has moved to Austria's Red Bull Ring for the ninth race of the season.

As shared by F1's official YouTube channel, drivers struggled adapting from Baku's street circuit to Spielberg's fast track in practice, with plenty of spins on offer:

Sunday's race should be another spectacular one, with Red Bull slowly improving as the season wears on. Ferrari has already taken the fight to Mercedes, and it looks like Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo might follow suit in their team's home race.

Date: Sunday, July 9

Time: 1 p.m. BST/8 a.m. ET

TV Info: Sky Sports F1 (UK), Channel 4 (UK), NBC Sports (U.S.)

Live Stream: Sky Go (UK), All 4 (UK, highlights), NBC Sports App (U.S.)

For the full driver's list, visit the F1 website.

Preview

The battle for the top spot in the standings between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton has been a good one so far, with Mercedes' usual dominance facing a real challenge from Ferrari.

The Brit won't have it easy in Austria once again, as a problem with his gearbox means he won't start higher than the third row, per Rachel Brookes of Sky Sports:

Mercedes have won the last three editions of the Austrian Grand Prix, with Hamilton taking the win in 2016. Vettel has never won in Spielberg, which didn't host a race between 2004 and 2013.

The German would no doubt love to wash away the memories of Baku with a win on Sunday. As expected, he was bombarded with questions regarding the incident between himself and Hamilton in Azerbaijan through Thursday and Friday.

Per Channel 4 F1, Hamilton made it clear the incident is a thing of the past, but reporters were unwilling to let go and kept pushing the topic:

There's more controversy elsewhere as well. As reported by Sky Sports News (via ESPN's Nate Saunders), Red Bull were none too happy to hear Carlos Sainz suggest he'll leave Toro Rosso next season, with Helmut Marko warning the Spaniard to be careful with his words:

"I think he's a bit confused. I can see it in his driving. He's made some silly mistakes this season already.

"The contract is crystal clear. You know in Austria we say 'You don't bite the hands which feeds you'. And it was Mr Mateschitz and me who pushed Sainz into Toro Rosso. Nobody else would give him a chance.”

Sainz has enjoyed another solid season and could help his status tremendously with a great showing on the Red Bull Ring. He's unlikely to take the seat of Ricciardo or Verstappen next year―both are under contract―but if teams believe in his ability enough to spend big on his Red Bull exit, the situation could become beneficial to all involved.