The Circuit:
Located some fifty miles south of Frankfurt and fifteen miles west of Heidelberg, the circuit was originally built as a test circuit for Mercedes cars. The German Grand Prix has been staged here since 1986 and it is, for the majority, an open circuit that is very fast throughout. The exception to this is the stadium complex which, along with Raidillon at Spa and Parabolica at Monza, has become legendary in motor racing. The crowd's reaction when a driver bursts out of the forest is unique.

Soon they re-enter the calm of the forest with its 200mph straights interrupted by violent directional changes at the three chicanes.

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.

Before the Ostkurve, the drivers get busy. The previous straight turns into a sharp right-left turn taken in 2nd gear at 50 mph before it becomes a long right-hand bend about 350 metres before Ostkurve is entered – a chicane which is a right-left taken in 2nd gear leading into a long, fast right-hander and on to the next straight. The Ayrton Senna Kurve, is approached down the back straight at 205 mph. The left-right turn slows the cars drastically to 60 mph as it’s taken in 2nd gear and then it’s full-power as the cars accelerate back up to 195 mph before the stadium complex begins to come into view. The Agipkurve is a fast right-hander that is taken in 4th gear at 105 mph and leads quickly into the Sachskurve as drivers shift down to a 60 mph 2nd gear for the hairpin that has a well-earned reputation for being slippery. The final section in the stadium complex that leads back to the start line, the Südkurve, is a double-apex hairpin with both right-handers taken in 3rd gear at an average of 90 mph and leading into the finishing straight where cars can accelerate to 175 mph.