Photo: McLaren Mercedes
The German Grand Prix is currently held at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg. In the past it has been raced at various different race tracks throughout Germany. The race has been held 73 times in Germany and is a more permanent fixture to the racing calendar.
Current
In 2012, Fernando Alonso won the race with Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen coming second and third respectively. Michael Schumacher claimed the fastest lap of the race. In 2013, the pre-season testing has begun with teams testing out their new cars. Hamilton has joined Mercedes and will be looking to impress, but with the main three manufacturers storming away with the top 6 places, it is difficult to see a winner from outside the top 6.
Race Track
The Hockenheimring opened on the 29th May 1932 and ever since has been hosting motorsport. Currently the circuit hosts the German Grand Prix and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. The capacity of the Hockenheimring is 120,000 spectators.
No shows booked at the moment.
from £History
The very first national German Grand Prix was held at the circuit AVUS in 1926 as a sports car race. The race was won in heavy rain by Rudolph Caracciola who drove a Mercedes-Benz. However, the first race was marred by the death of 3 people after an accident. In 1929 the German Grand Prix became an official event, but the race didn’t return to AVUS until 1959.
The Grand Prix moved to the Nurburgring, which was 17.5miles long in 1927. The race stayed on the Northern route which was just over 14 miles long before in the 1970’s the race moved to the Hockenheimring due to safety concerns. The 1930 and 1933 races were cancelled due to the economic problems in Germany.
In 1937 and 1939 Caracciola won two German Grand Prix’s, the next German to win was in 1995 when arguably the best Formula 1 driver won, Michael Schumacher. Because of problems with the war, there was major disruption to the Grand Prix’s held in Germany.
The first German Formula One World Championships was held at the Nurburgring in 1951. After Mercedes had pulled out and there was a decline in the attendance, the German Grand Prix returned to AVUS in 1959.
In 1970 there were safety concerns, and in 1976 Formula One declined to race at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, which was sealed by the near fatal crash of Niki Lauda and so moved to the Hockenheimring where the race would be held from 1976 to 2006.
Between 2006 and 2010, it was decided that the Hockenheimring and the Nurburgring would host the German Grand Prix in alternate years. The Grand Prix was about to be pulled in 2010 over a row between Hockenheim owners and Formula One, but after the dispute was resolved, there was a deal signed until 2018.
