Sebastian Vettel is delighted Formula 1 will return to the Nurburgring later in 2020.
Last week, the iconic German circuit was included as one of three new venues for this season along with Imola and Portimao, this after F1 decided to cancel all events in the Americas over Covid-19 concerns.
Its comeback happened pretty suddenly, with rumours only emerging a day or two before it was announced, and for Vettel, the news means he’ll enjoy one final home race before leaving Ferrari and potentially F1 after this year.
“The Nürburgring, what a big surprise! [There’s] still a Grand Prix in Germany this year!” he told German press agency DPA.
“I’ve driven three times there in Formula 1 so far. With Red Bull, once I was second and the last time in 2013 I managed to win the race.”
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Hopes of adding a second Nurburgring win are slim given Ferrari’s current woes, but what may throw a curveball is the weather, with rain rarely far away and an average temperature of just 8C in the region for October.
“It will certainly be a challenge for the teams and for us as drivers,” he added. “I’m already excited about what the weather will be like in October.”
Also commenting on the possibility of poor weather though, circuit MD Mirko Markfort was at ease.
“In one hand it makes it exciting, on the other hand, you can never be sure at the Nürburgring that the weather is good,” he said.
“We had races in July when it was bitterly cold. We are not overly concerned about this because we have also noticed that global warming has produced good days into late autumn.
“The VLN (Nürburgring endurance series) also runs until the end of October, now even until November. So I’m not worried about that.”