German GP 2011 - Nürburgring

[i70q7m7ghw]

Love turn 1 at this track, it's pretty much a hairpin for a first corner, so many lines through there at the start of the GP.

[alvinkhorfire]

If I am not mistaken, the rule will revert back to Valencia spec. If that is the case, Ferrari's superior race performance over Red Bull is just one-off. Yes, Ferrari's performance is improving with time. With Valencia spec ruling, Red Bull will regain its place as the fastest race car.

Well, so much for the "second championship". It would be difficult for anyone to challenge the dominance of Red Bull.

[marcush.]

Love turn 1 at this track, it's pretty much a hairpin for a first corner, so many lines through there at the start of the GP.

there is a dramatic elevation change a serious drop at the inside of this first corner ..I´m pretty sure a F1 car is not suited to take the inside line....
also this corner is quite trricky as the straight is dropping downwards slightly in the braking area so you seem to be late on the brakes anyways...

[Gerhard Berger]

If I am not mistaken, the rule will revert back to Valencia spec. If that is the case, Ferrari's superior race performance over Red Bull is just one-off. Yes, Ferrari's performance is improving with time. With Valencia spec ruling, Red Bull will regain its place as the fastest race car.

Well, so much for the "second championship". It would be difficult for anyone to challenge the dominance of Red Bull.

Ferrari had a raft of updates for Silverstone, and were already improving in the previous races. We'll have to wait and see whether it was the updates that improved performance or the restriction in off throttle blowing.

Still think Red Bull were faster at Silverstone, just Alonso made the differece (look where Massa was).

[raymondu999]

It wouldn't have been that much of a difference; Silverstone isn't a driver circuit where a lot of time depends on the driver (as in Monaco/Spa/Suzuka).

I think both the diffuser restriction, as well as Ferrari's upgrades, made the difference. On paper Nurburgring would be a much better track to judge OTEBD performance as it's more slow corners than Silverstone, so I guess we'll find out

[Traction]

I just hope this race is as good as if not better than Silverstone... The competetiveness is awesome...Its good to see the likes of Ferrari and Mclaren performing as well as we all expect them to. Although in earlier races they were lighning quick at some stages but failed to deliver however I have a feeling this might be different...

[Poleman]

+1 Also Nurburgring is a nice track as well.

[Morteza]

This will be the first Nürburgring race I'm watching. I hope it will be an interesting one.

[Traction]

A bit of history.....


The original Nurburgring, the Nordschleife, ran for an awe-inspiring 22.5 kilometres (14 miles). It was so long and so complicated that drivers simply could not remember a racing line. The Nurburgring was, in fact, two circuits: the Nordschleife and the Sudschleife. In total they had an amazing 172 corners.

It was safety which sealed the demise of the legendary track. Following Niki Lauda's terrifying accident there in 1976 in which he suffered horrendous burns, the Nurburgring's license to hold Formula One events was withdrawn.

The track underwent huge redevelopment to create a new circuit and in the spring of 1984 a race was held featuring 20 identical Mercedes 190Es and a grid composed of some of the best-ever Formula One drivers. Niki Lauda, Carlos Reutemann, Keke Rosberg, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, James Hunt, Stirling Moss, Jack Brabham, Phil Hill, John Surtees and Denny Hulme were just a few of the names to take part. Senna, then a relative youngster, won from Lauda and Reutemann.

The European Grand Prix was held at the new track later that year, and again in 1985, but it disappeared again after commercial difficulties. With the ascendancy of Michael Schumacher, from nearby Kerpen, the track was once again back in Formula One in 1995. Posing as the Luxembourg Grand Prix for 1997 and 1998, it then once more became the home of the European Grand Prix until 2006. From 2007 it has played host to the German Grand Prix every other year in an agreement which sees the race alternate between there and Hockenheim.

The track may not be as challenging as the old circuit, but it is still possible to take a trip down memory lane - literally. For just a few euros one can take a car onto the old track and soak up what was one of the most feared and yet respected circuits in the history of motorsport.


Taken from formula1.com

[Mandrake]

A bit exaggerated history lesson, but interesting to read the track being so long the drivers cannot remember the racing line can't be true. Then I'd be much better than all of them driving in the GLP series on the nordschleife I know every corner and the best line through it. But I can only recommend driving a lap there if you can, it is a magnificent track with incredible elevation.

[Richard]

Can we move on from this and get back to talking about the German GP 2011?

Yes please. At least it is still no longer in Luxembourg

[Gerhard Berger]

I don't think it ever actually was in Luxembourg.

[raymondu999]

IIRC the Nurburgring Grand Prix (for lack of a better name) was once called the Luxembourg Grand Prix

[alvinkhorfire]

With the rule reverting back to Valencia spec, does this mean that Webber may not be able to match Vettel's pace?

[Traction]

1. The Nürburgring was built to alleviate unemployment in the Eifel region of northwest Germany. From 1925 to 1927, some 25,000 persons were hired to construct the racetrack.

2. The man who spearheaded the job, Dr. Otto Creuz, a politician in the Eifel region, was later suspected by the Nazis of diverting funds; he eventually committed suicide.

3. The track cost 14.1 million reichsmarks to build, about $40 million in today’s money.

4. It originally consisted of the 14.2-mile Nordschleife and the 4.8-mile Südschleife. The Nordschleife has since been shortened to 12.9 miles. Parts of the Südschleife became the so-called Neue Nürburgring F1 track in the early 1980s.

5. The Nordschleife is a toll road open to the public. It’s closed only during testing events and races. A lap costs 23 euros (about $35). What you really didn’t know: German road regulations apply—there are some posted speed limits, and you can’t pass on the right.

6. The record for the fastest lap on the 12.9-mile track belongs to Stefan Bellof, who in 1983 drove a Porsche 956 around it in 6 minutes and 11.13 seconds, averaging 125.6 mph. In 1975, on the 14.2-mile track, F1 champ Niki Lauda lapped a Ferrari 312T in 6 minutes and 58.6 seconds, averaging 122 mph.

7. Nearly 1000 feet separate the highest and lowest points on the course.

8. The lap record for a production car belongs to Michael Vergers, who turned a 6:48 lap in a Radical SR8LM, a machine that pushes the term “production car” to comical extremes.

9. According to the official website, there are 33 left-hand bends, 40 to the right. Looking at a video of Jim Mero’s 7:26 lap in a Corvette ZR1, we count 87. Others count 100 turns.

10. The number of fatalities in its 83-year history is a source of contention. One source puts the toll at 73; others say that between two and 12 persons die every year. If you have an accident and damage the Armco barriers, you (or a non-dead relative of yours) will end up paying. And if your accident closes the track for an extended period, that’ll cost your estate, too.