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WATCH - Formula One drivers face off in fun Austrian off-road adventure

WATCH - Formula One drivers face off in fun Austrian off-road adventure

Formula One drivers face off in fun Austrian off-road adventure

As they gear up for Formula One's doubleheader at the Red Bull Ring, starting with this weekend's Styrian Grand Prix, the Red Bull Racing Honda and Scuderia AlphaTauri drivers went head-to-head in the ultimate scavenger hunt, codenamed 'Formula Schnitzeljagd'.

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Formula Schnitzeljagd is an off-road Austrian adventure like no other. Red Bull Racing duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez joined Scuderia AlphaTauri racers Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda on a tour that mixed culture with driving challenges.

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First up, they travelled to Hangar-7 in Salzburg and jumped on board a Cessna 208 Caravan seaplane for the short 80km flight to Styria's largest lake, Grundlsee.

After arriving at Grundlsee and kitting themselves out in traditional Austrian clothing, the Bulls faced their first challenge of racing two of the lake's traditional long wooden Plätten boats.

Next up, was stepping into a pair of enormous six-wheel Pinzgauer trucks. Originally manufactured in nearby Graz, Pinzgauers are high-mobility, all-terrain vehicles capable of taking on daunting landscapes, and the most treacherous of inclines and declines.

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The drivers were tested to make full use of the Pinzgauer's capabilities as they went head-to-head through the forests deep in the Styrian countryside on their way to the Red Bull Ring.

And once at the home of F1 in Austria and with a suitably damp track awaiting them, there was only one final challenge to face – an all-or-nothing sprint to the flag.

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Verstappen, 23, said: "Honestly I'd never seen anything like the Pinzgauer before – a six-wheel car. It pretty was cool to drive! It's always nice to race in Austria and now we get the opportunity to do it twice. It's our home Grand Prix and we've won it before, so hopefully we can have two good weekends here."

Pérez, 31, added: "It was very competitive, very serious (laughs) and the best type of preparation you can have for the race weekend."

Tsunoda, 21, said: "It was a really interesting and exciting event and there was plenty of teamwork. It was fun. The driving in the off-road with the Pinzgauer, we got stuck a lot on the hills and we had a tough time to get out from there, but it was fun."

Gasly, 25, concluded: "We went around the Austrian countryside and discovered a lot of different parts of the country before we ended up at The Red Bull Ring. It was good to be with all four drivers together."