Austria GP audience almost halved - report

Jun.23 (GMM) Expectations of a smaller crowd of spectators for the Red Bull-promoted Austrian grand prix have been confirmed.

Last year, as the sport returned to the refurbished 'Red Bull Ring' for the first time in a decade, an enthusiastic full house of 90,000 thronged the stands.

But Kleine Zeitung newspaper reports that, a year on and amid formula one's widely-reported problems, the race-day crowd had dwindled to just 55,000 on Sunday.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, however, was happy with the job done by race organisers Red Bull.

"Excellent," the Briton told Salzburger Nachrichten. "The best sign is when nobody complains about anything."