Lord of the German GP: Hockenheimring vs Nurburgring

Which German Grand Prix is better?

Two classic circuits in Germany, for years both of them wanted a spot on the Grand Prix calendar, and from 1995 to 2006 they both got one. From 2007 it was announced that there would only be one Grand Prix in Germany a year, and both tracks currently alternative each season.

The most well known out of the two is undoubtedly the Nurburgring, first hosting a race in 1926 the ring swiftly became known for being the most challenging circuit on the calendar.

After world war two, racing commenced at the “Nordschleife” layout of the ring or “The Green Hell” as it was later dubbed, the video below shows just why the track earned its nickname.

In 1984 the new Grand Prix track we know today was constructed to meet the highest safety standards, fans were angry and argued that it didn't deserve the Nurburgring name, considering it to be a mere shadow of the Nordschleife.

The track at first glance seems very simple, but as we've seen in the past, the weather can be very unpredictable, here’s one of the craziest races around the Nurburgring!:

The Nurburgring has the honour of hosting the race this weekend, it hasn't always produced the best of races but the new rules for 2011 should make it one of the best so far this season, especially if the weather plays a part.

Last year, the Hockenheimring hosted the race which involved the Ferrari team orders scandal (the less said about that the better!) and we saw a fairly interesting race despite being robbed of a great ending.

The Hockenheimring also now races around a shorter layout, which was introduced for the 2002 German Grand Prix after fans claimed they missed the best of the action as almost all overtaking manoeuvres happened in the forest sector.

The circuit was reduced to a length of 4.5km (2.8 miles) with 13 turns. The stadium section remained unchanged but the long straights from the old layout were removed and trees were replanted there eliminating any chance of the old layout being used again in support races. Like the Nurburgring, fans and F1 personnel criticised the changes.

The track first hosted a race in 1970 and has a current deal to hold a race up until 2018.

To finish, below are laps on board of both the new and the old layouts.

Current layout:

Old layout:

And here's a classic race from the BBC (UK viewers only)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8109551.stm

I'm sure we're all hoping for a great race this weekend at the Nurburgring, and a few of you will certainly be hoping for rain (me included!).

Let's hope we witness a classic.

Posted by Alex Cooper. Follow me on twitter @acooperf1

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Last Comment Posted »

• Yeah the lap around the Nordschleife is quite mesmerising, forgot to add but I prefer Hockenheim, I think we've seen better races around there than...
  by Alex
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