German Grand Prix
| Hockenheimring | |
| Race information | |
|---|---|
| Most wins (drivers) |  Rudolf Caracciola (6) |
| Most wins (constructors) |  Ferrari (18) |
| Circuit length | 4.57 km (2.84 miles) |
| Race length | 306.46 km (190.42 miles) |
| Laps | 67 |
| Last race (2006) | |
| Pole position | |
| |
| Podium | |
| |
| Fastest lap | |
| |
The German Grand Prix (Großer Preis von Deutschland) is an annual automobile race. The Grand Prix motorcycle racing event is also called German GP but this article concentrates on the automobile GP.
As Germany was banned from taking part in international events after World War II, the German GP became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1951. It is organized by AvD (Automobile Club of Germany) since 1926. The well-known ADAC hosts many other races, eg. since 1995 the second F1 race in Germany at the Nürburgring.
History
In 1907, Germany staged the first of the Kaiserpreis races at the Taunus Circuit, with entries limited to touring cars with engines of less than eight litres. The race was won by Italian Felice Nazzaro in a Fiat. Like the Prinz-Heinrich-Fahrt held from 1908 to 1911, it was a precursor to the German Grand Prix.
The first national event in German Grand Prix motor racing came to the AVUS (Automobil Verkehrs und Übungs-Straße) race course in southwest Berlin in 1926 as a sports car race. The first race at AVUS, in heavy rain, was won by Germany's native son, Rudolf Caracciola in a Mercedes-Benz. The event was marred by Adolf Rosenberger's crash into one of the marshals' huts, killing three people. The German Grand Prix became an official event in 1929, but would not return to AVUS again until 1959, and then only once.
The Grand Prix moved to the new, 28km (17.4mi)-long course at Nürburgring, inaugurated on June 18, 1927 with an ADAC Eifelrennen. It would mainly stay there on the 22.8km (14.2mi) Nordschleife (North Loop) course until the 1970s, when the rival Hockenheimring would take over due to safety concerns.
The 1930 and 1933 German Grands Prix were both cancelled due to the country's economic problems.
Starting in 1934, there were often several races with Silver Arrows Grand Prix cars in Germany each year, eg. the Eifelrennen, the AVUS race, and several hillclimbs. Yet only the GP at the Nürburgring was the national Grande Epreuve that counted toward the European Championship from 1935 to 1939.
After Bernd Rosemeyer and Hans Stuck scored one victory each, Rudolf Caracciola took the German GP in 1937 and again in 1939, a feat no other German driver could accomplish between 1937 and 1995, when Michael Schumacher won. Also, two upset wins were scored by foreigners Tazio Nuvolari and Dick Seaman in the late 1930s.
At that time, a new track had been built near Dresden, called the Deutschlandring, which was intended to host the 1940 German Grand Prix. However, the race was never run due to World War II.
After WWII, Germany and German drivers were banned from international contests until 1951, so the inaugural F1 Season in 1950 did not include the German GP.
Due to the decline in attendance after the retirement of Mercedes and Juan Manuel Fangio, the AvD returned the German GP to AVUS in 1959. Due to the simple layout of this high speed track and several accidents, it was considered a bad move. In anticipation of 1961 rule changes in F1, the 1960 GP was held for Formula 2 cars of Porsche as well as the F2 Ferrari Dino of Wolfgang von Trips, which did not show up. This GP did not count towards the World Championships, and was also held on the shorter 7.7km (4.8mi) Nürburgring Südschleife (South Loop).
After the former F2 rules were declared the new F1, Porsche entered Formula 1 in 1961. Additional F1 races were held at their home town Stuttgart at the Solitude circuit. These races, joined with Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Championship events, drew an average of 288,000 spectators. There were rumors the German GP might be moved to the more popular track, yet the opposite happened, as the Solitude races were cancelled after 1965, while the GP had returned to the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 1961.
In 1970, drivers asked for safety improvements on short notice which could not be made, and the German GP moved to the Hockenheimring, which was already modified. After a rebuild, the Nordschleife hosted six more GPs. F1 finally declined to race there after 1976, and Niki Lauda's crash sealed this.
Since 1977, the Hockenheimring became the German Grand Prix's permanent home, with the exception of 1985 on the new 4.5km (2.8mi) Nürburgring. Already back in 1984 an additional F1 race had been held at the Nürburgring following the inauguration of its modern "Grand Prix Strecke" layout. Following the success of Schumacher, this went on to become the venue for a second annual F1 race in Germany, the European Grand Prix or Luxembourg Grand Prix since 1995.
In 2006 it was reported that from 2007 until 2010, the German Grand Prix would be shared between the Nürburgring (former home of the European Grand Prix) and the Hockenheimring. The former would hold the races in 2007 and 2009, the latter in 2008 and 2010. However, the name for the 2007 Grand Prix was later changed. While originally intended to be the German Grand Prix[1], the Nürburgring currently lists the 2007 event as "Großer Preis von Europa" (European Grand Prix).[2]
Sponsors
Großer Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1987-2006
Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland 2008-
Winners of the German Grand Prix
Repeat Winners
Only includes World Championship events
| Number of wins | Driver | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Michael Schumacher
|
1995, 2002, 2004, 2006 |
| 3 |  Juan Manuel Fangio
|
1954, 1956, 1957 |
 Jackie Stewart
|
1968, 1971, 1973 | |
 Nelson Piquet
|
1981, 1986, 1987 | |
| Ayrton Senna
|
1988, 1989, 1990 | |
| 2 | Alberto Ascari
|
1951, 1952 |
| Tony Brooks
|
1958, 1959 | |
| John Surtees
|
1963, 1964 | |
 Jacky Ickx
|
1969, 1972 | |
| Nigel Mansell
|
1991, 1992 | |
 Alain Prost
|
1984, 1993 | |
 Gerhard Berger
|
1994, 1997 |
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
A cream background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.
External links
References
- ^ "2007 FIA Formula One championship circuit and lap information, published on February 14, 2007". Official FIA press release. Retrieved 2007-04-22.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "Nürburgring". Official Homepage of the Nürburgring. Retrieved 2007-04-14.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Originally to be held at Nürburgring, the title was changed to European Grand Prix due to a dispute over ownership of the German Grand Prix name. See Autosport: Name row leads to return of European GP