Circuit Information Page

The German Grand Prix from 2007 will alternate between the Nurburgring and the Hockenheim Circuit.

At the begining !
Hockenheimring was originally built in 1932 using roads in the forest as an alternative to the Wildpark-Circuit in Karlsruhe, which became forbidden as a racing circuit by German officials. Hockenheimring was used for motorcycle racing and was expanded to be used as test track for Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union in 1936. In 1938 it was renamed the Kurpfalzring and that name was used until 1947. After the war, former DKW and NSU factory rider and world record setter Wilhelm Herz promoted the track successfully

The original circuit was almost eight kilometres long and consisted of two long straights with a long "Eastern" corner in the forest and a U-turn inside Hockenheim joining them together.
In 1965, when the new Autobahn A 6 separated the village from the main part of the track, a new version of Hockenheim circuit was built, with the "Motodrom" stadium section. After Jim Clark was killed in 1968 in a Formula 2 racing accident, two chicanes and an Armco barrier were added. A small memorial was placed near the first chicane, at the site of his accident. In 1982, another chicane was added at the Ostkurve (east curve), after Patrick Depailler was killed there in 1980; and the first chicane was made slower as well.
This version used to be quite large, with a very long, fast section going through forests essentially consisting of four straights of roughly 1.3 km, separated by a chicane sequence, followed by a more tight and twisty "stadium" section (so called because of all the grandstands situated there) named Motodrom. This made the setting-up of racing cars difficult, since a choice had to be made - whether to run low downforce to optimize speed through the straights and compromise grip in the stadium section, or vice-versa. The long track length also meant that a typical Formula 1 race had only 45 laps, limiting the spectators' experience of the race to only the many passes through the stadium.
Many problems came to light during the 2000 German Grand Prix, where Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello won from having started 18th on the grid, in changeable weather conditions. All the overtaking moves that took place during the race were in the chicanes of the forest sector, meaning hardly any spectators saw most of the best action. French driver Jean Alesi had a massive accident at the 3rd chicane after a collision in the braking zone with Pedro Diniz, which saw Alesi's car spin uncontrollably down the track, causing him to suffer dizziness for 3 days. A former Mercedes employee, who had been sacked, breached the track's security barriers on the first main straight, showing vulnerable security facilities in the forest.
These events prompted much protest from the FIA to greatly improve spectator viewing, safety and security at the track, as it had become clear that the track was no longer suited to modern Formula 1 racing.

2001 redesign
In the early 2000s, F1 officials demanded the 6.823 km (4.240 mi) track be shortened and threatened to discontinue racing there, due to competition from other tracks such as the EuroSpeedway Lausitz and sites in Asia. The state government of Baden-Württemberg secured the financing for the redesign by Hermann Tilke for the 2002 German Grand Prix. The stadium section remained mostly intact, despite a new surface and a tighter Turn 1 ("Nordkurve"). However, the circuit was dramatically shortened, with the long, forest straights section chopped off in favour of more tight corners. In an extremely controversial move, the old forest section was torn up and replanted with trees, eliminating any chance of using the old course either for future F1 events or for historic car events. There was and still remains a great deal of criticism of the track redesign, in terms of ruining the previous unique technical challenges of the old Hockenheim circuit and delivering a new homogenised 'assembly line' circuit without the character of the previous layout, whilst being beset by the perceived problems of other Tilke circuits.

Engines are worked hard at Hockenheim - running at full blast for over 70% of race distance. The combination of high speed straights and the stadium section makes it a very difficult circuit to set up for. Car settings are compromised for top speeds down the straights and downforce on the slow corners. At over four miles in length, it is one of the longest Grand Prix circuits, and it is often more infamously remembered as the circuit that took the life of Jim Clark in April 1968.

Weather is often very changeable as the circuit winds its way through dense pine forests which can create dangerous patches of fog and mist.

The first German Prix staged here came in 1970 while the Nurburgring was undergoing various modifications. It was won for Lotus by Jochen Rindt who edged out Jacky Ickx by a nose. After Lauda's accident at the 'Ring in 1976 the German Grand Prix set up home here in 1977 and apart from a return to the new Nurburgring in 1985 the race has been staged here since.

Perhaps fittingly the 1977 race was won by Lauda in a race that was marked by a high attrition rate. In 1980, 12 years after the death of Clark, Hockenheim was again a scene of tragedy. This time it was Patrick Depailler who lost his life in a testing accident. As a result of the accident a chicane was installed at the fast Ostkurve. In 1982 the circuit staged a memorable event. Pironi was seriously injured after a collision in practise, while the race itself hit the headlines after Piquet and the Chilean driver Eliseo Salazar had a punch-up. Patrick Tambay scored an emotional victory for Ferrari while running in the car that should have been driven by Gilles Villeneuve.

The toll on machinery has continued to be a feature of the circuit and in 1987 and 1989 Prost suffered the most after losing the lead with only a handful of laps to go. In 1987 it was Piquet who benefitted, two years later the glory went to Senna. The Brazilian also won here in 1988 and 1990, while Mansell did the double in '91 and during his championship season on 1992. Prost finally scored a victory here in 1993, his final year in the sport. 1994 proved memorable when half the field was wiped out in a first lap incident. That allowed Berger to score a win for Ferrari, the Scuderia's first victory for four years. 1995 belonged to the local hero Michael Schumacher, after Hill crashed out of the lead. 1996 saw Hill make amends while in 1997 Berger scored a win after a three race absence and the recent death of his father. In 1998 it was Hakkinen's turn, while a year later the Finn was fortunate to survive a high speed tyre explosion that pitched him into the barriers. His misfortune gave Eddie Irvine the win, but only after team mate Mika Salo had allowed him through.

So the story of Hockenheim continues !