The Nürburgring is a motor racing circuit near Nürburg, Ahrweiler in West-Central Germany. The circuit is one of two circuits which currently play host to the German Grand Prix. The Nürburgring is used in odd-numbered years, with the Hockenheimring taking the even-numbered years, though no German Grand Prix was held at either circuit in 2015. The circuit has also hosted the Luxembourg Grand Prix and European Grand Prix in the past.
The circuit has undergone several major changes in its history, from the 22.8km Nordschleife and 28.3km Gesamtstrecke to the 5.148km GP-Strecke which is used currently. The Nordschleife layout, used for 22 Formula One World Championship events between 1951 and 1976, is second only to the Pescara Circuit in Italy in terms of the longest circuits ever used in F1.
The current layout of the GP-Strecke was first used in 2002, and has been used nine times since.
Circuit History
The Nürburgring was designed in the early-1920s by German architect, Gustav Eichler to alleviate the use of public roads for racing, a practice which was seen as dangerous. Construction of the original 28km track began in September 1925 and took just a year and a half to complete. The Gesamtstrecke officially opened in 18th June 1927 with a series of motorcycle and sidecar races, with motorcar races taking to the new track the following day. Among the winners of the car races was Rudolf Caracciola, who would become three-time European Champion over the next 21 years. The full length circuit was used for the last time in 1929, after which the majority of races were held on the slightly shorter Nordschleife. The Sudschleife would continue to be used by motorcycle races and minor events until 1973 when it was abandoned.
From 1929, the German Grand Prix was held on the Nordschleife as part of the European Championship until the event joined the Formula One World Championship in 1951 until 1954. The 1954 event was marred by the death of Onofre Marimón during practice.
In 1955, in the wake of the Le Mans disaster, the German Grand Prix was cancelled, along with the French, Spanish and Swiss Grands Prix. The German Grand Prix returned to the Nürburgring in 1956 where it continued for three years.
At the 1958 German Grand Prix, Peter Collins was killed when his Ferrari Dino 246 ran wide into a ditch and was propelled into the air. Collins was thrown out of the vehicle and struck a tree, causing fatal head injuries.
Following a year at AVUS and a Formula 2 event at the Sudschleife in 1960, Formula One returned to the Nürburgring in 1961 where is would stay for the remainder of the decade. During this time, two Formula One drivers were killed at the circuit: Carel Godin de Beaufort in 1964 and John Taylor in 1966.
Circuit Layouts
Current Layouts
- Nordschleife
- GP Strecke
- GP Sprint
- Müllenbachschleife
- Touristenfahrten
Previous Layouts
- Sudschleife
- Betonschleife
Event history
The following is a list of Grand Prix events held at the Nürburgring, with a rose background meaning a non-championship event, and a yellow for the pre-war European Championship:
Notes
| V T E |  German Grand Prix
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|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Nürburgring (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960–1969, 1971–1976, 1985, 2008–2013*), AVUS (1926, 1959), Hockenheimring (1970, 1977–1984, 1986–2006, 2008–2014*, 2016, 2018–2019) |   |
| Races | 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 | |
| European Championship Races | 1932 • 1933–1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 | |
| Non-Championship Races | 1926 • 1927 • 1928 • 1929 • 1930 • 1931 • 1932–1933 • 1934 | |
| * Nürburgring and Hockenheimring alternated between each other during these years. | ||
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