While Formula 1's Austrian Grand Prix is taking place on a Red Bull Ring track that is unchanged from last year, an unexpected discovery ahead of the weekend has found it is actually longer than previously declared.
The quirk has been confirmed in official documentation issued by F1 race director Rui Marques ahead of track action beginning.
In it, the circuit length for this weekend has been declared at 4.326 kilometres (2.688 miles), whereas last year it was deemed to have been 4.318km (2.683 miles).
The new figure unexpectedly came to light after the FIA conducted a detailed scan of the circuit earlier this week, which found that it was eight metres longer than it was the last time it was measured.
There is no obvious explanation for why such a discrepancy has emerged, considering no circuit modifications have taken place.
Rescans of circuits that are done every few years often show only very marginal differences, so an eight-metre difference is unusual.
The way the FIA measures the circuit distance, using a centreline measurement of the track, is unchanged - and the increased accuracy of the system it uses for scanning has not shown such changes at other tracks this season.
However, there are some theories as to why this difference has appeared.
One is that potential natural land movement around the Red Bull Ring since the last measurement was taken may have altered the topography.
This could contribute to a longer distance - if, for example, some new gradients have appeared, so there is a greater distance of track surface between two points as it rises and falls.
Another could be related to circuit modifications that were made in recent years to widen some of the corners to help avoid track limits problems.
With the final Red Bull Ring corner, for example, having its exit kerb moved outwards, this in theory shifts the centreline of the circuit further out - so the radius being measured will be wider.
The new slightly longer track measurement means that the official race distance will also be slightly longer this year.
With the start line offset to the finish line remaining at 126 metres, the 71 laps will now cover 307.02km rather than the 306.452km of 2024.
