on Jul 18, 2011
Formula One’s return to German soil sees us return to the famous Nurburgring, which alternates as the grand prix venue with Hockenheim.
Our sole German GP win came in 2009 when Webber took the chequered flag, ahead of Sebastian Vettel for a Red Bull Racing 1-2 here at the Nurburgring. Remarkably, it was achieved after a drive-through penalty had seen Mark drop to eighth at once stage, only to battle his way back to the front in an awe-inspiring charge. Our only other German Grand Prix podium was last year in Hockenheim when Seb finished third in his home race.
Mark has stood on the podium at the Nurburgring in 2007, but his third place was at the rain-affected European Grand Prix when David Coulthard also finished in the points, in fifth place.
DC also brought home two points in Germany in 2005, finishing seventh, while our only other score at this grand prix came a year later with Christian Klien’s eighth-place finish for a point.
Apart from Hockenheim and the Nurburgring, the race has only ever been held at one other circuit, Berlin’s AVUS in 1959, where the grand prix was divided into two heats – an aggregate result being used to decide the winner.
The Nurburgring was one of the most feared tracks on the calendar, originally a mind-blowing, physically sapping 22.5km long with 172 corners, but its poor safety record sealed the demise of the original layout in 1976.
The modern-day Nurburgring is (a little) easier for drivers’ concentration, being 5.148km long, with 15 turns and at least three good overtaking opportunities.
The race is 60 laps, a distance of 308.863. Michael Schumacher holds the lap record of 1:29.468, which he set in 2004, and has four German GP wins, putting him behind compatriot Rudolf Caracciola, who heads the list of winners with six victories.
The track is set in the picturesque Eifel mountains, with little in the way of entertainment in the immediate area. Bonn, Cologne and Koblenz are your best bets for some lively off-track action. Although fans do provide their own fun and games in the campsites and beer tents around the circuit.
Credit: Red Bull Racing Formula one Team (www.redbullracing.com)
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