Sebastian Vettel wouldn’t shy away from Formula 1 returning to the Nurburgring Nordschleife, claiming a race on the track would be “fantastic”.
The ‘Green Hell’, as it became known, opened in 1927 and hosted the German Grand Prix, bar a few exceptions, until 1976, when Niki Lauda’s infamous crash was the final straw following years of growing safety concerns.
Nowadays, the 20km track is better known as a tourist destination, where you can pay to drive your own car around its 154 corners, and Vettel recalled his first experience of the circuit doing just that.
“The Nordschleife is older than the Grand Prix circuit,” he began. “The very first time, I was 17 years old and I took my road car around the track, around the Nordschleife.
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“I had a scary moment after the Shwedenkruez corner, I had brakes fading and nearly crashed because I was treating the car like a sports car, which it was, but not made for the Nordschleife.
“It’s a very, very enjoyable track. I think it will be fantastic if we were to race on the Nordschleife.
“Obviously, the track would need a resurfacing and a bit more smooth but that would be the ultimate challenge. I think it’s the best track in the world.”
Today, racing is pretty limited, but the main attraction each year is the Nurburgring 24 Hours, which attracts over 200 entries ranging from GT3 cars all the way to 100hp touring cars, and is run on the Nordschliefe and F1 track combined.
“I followed the 24-hour race two weeks ago as well so generally a very big fan of the Nordschleife,” Vettel commented on whether he would give a go.
“I think it’s one of the biggest challenges in the motorsport world. So who knows? Maybe yes.
“Hopefully I pick a good year because it can be quite a big challenge with the weather as well. It’s probably a question more for later days.”
Of course, the lure of the Nordschleife isn’t limited to Vettel, with his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo revealing his own experience.
“I drove it in 2008,” he said. “I drove it in my own car at the time, which was a Fiat Punto, and believe it or not I still went off the track in the Fiat.
“There was one part of the track I remember it was a little bit blind left uphill, in the corner really tightened. I was not prepared so I understeered off and went over the curb and cut across the grass.
“Fortunately, I stayed out of the barriers, but that was my last experience!”
The last F1 car to go around the Nordschleife was the 2007 BMW Sauber in the hands of Nick Heidfeld as he completed a demonstration ahead of that year’s European GP.
This year, Williams’ George Russell also got the chance to drive the circuit in Mercedes’ 730hp AMG-GT, nicknamed ‘The Beast’.
“The Nordschleife was INSANE!!,” he wrote on social media afterwards. “F1 can we race there please?”
Unfortunately, that dream is one that is never likely to come true.
