Publications
Partners
• The 2020 Eifel Grand Prix takes place in Germany this weekend.
• The race takes place at the Nurburgring race track located in the heart of the Eifel mountains.
• The last time a Formula 1 race took place at the Nurburgring was in 2013.
This weekend's Eifel grand prix takes place at the world famous Nurburgring race track. Although not originally on the 2020 calendar the race was added to the shortened race schedule due to the impact of the coronavirus.
Its history stretches back to 1927 when the Nordschleife (North loop) was built. It hosted its first official F1 race in 1951 and was won by Italian Alberto Ascari.
The Nurburgring is infamous in F1 due to a serious crash involving Niki Lauda in 1976. The organisers went back to the drawing board and a safer version of the circuit was unveiled in 1984.
Vettel's 2013 win
The last time a Formula 1 was at the Nurburgring was way back in 2013 when German Sebastian Vettel won his home race in the Red Bull for the first time. Vettel went on to win his fourth consecutive drivers' title in that season.
The German had a superb season and set a record of nine consecutive wins in a season.
In 2014 Hockenheimring replaced the Nurburgring for the German GP and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg picked up the win. The race was not held in 2015 and 2017, with Lewis Hamilton victorious in 2016 and 2018. Red Bull's Max Verstappen is the most recent winner of the race with victory in 2019.
The Nurburgring was the venue for another piece of F1 history that many people might not know: at the 1985 German GP fans saw the first live TV footage from onboard an F1 car.
The driver in question was Francois Hesnault, and the Renault driver ended up retiring from 20th place on the eighth lap of the race.
It was the first time viewers could get a driver's point of view shot and thanks to the bulky camera fitted to Hesnault's Renault RE60, it became a reality.
The footage might be grainy and the mic below par but we're still able to hear the 1.5-litre turbocharged V6 engine scream. Enjoy the footage and don't forget to follow our live commentary of the Eifel GP this weekend.
KEEP UPDATED on the latest Wheels news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter.
