Ferrari have more wins than any other team at the Nurburgring, Red Bull have finished on the podium in all of the last four races here and Haas are the only team to have no previous experience at the circuit. Here’s everything you need to know about each team’s history at the Nurburgring!
MERCEDES
WINS: 1, POLES: 2, PODIUMS: 1
Mercedes last won at the Nurburgring in Formula 1 at the 1954 German Grand Prix, when Juan Manuel Fangio took victory. In all of the Brackley-based team’s last three appearances at the circuit, they have scored with both cars, with two top five finishes – for Jenson Button at Brawn GP in 2009 and for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes in 2013. The team last finished on the podium here under their BAR Honda guise in 2004, when Button finished in third place. Button is also the team’s most recent retirement at the circuit, with his Sunday afternoon ending in the gravel trap in 2007.
Mercedes are the most recent polesitters at the Nurburgring, with Lewis Hamilton having taken pole position in 2013. This was Mercedes’ first pole at the circuit since Juan Manuel Fangio set the pace for the 1954 German Grand Prix. In the last seven races at the track, the Brackley-based team have reached Q3 with both cars on four occasions, with both cars qualifying in the top three under their Brawn GP name in 2009.
FERRARI
WINS: 14, POLES: 15, PODIUMS: 41
Ferrari have had more appearances at the Nurburgring than any other team – but they haven’t appeared in every race at the circuit. The 1969 and 1973 German Grands Prix are two of only 33 rounds of the World Championship in which Ferrari did not compete. On their last visit to the Nurburgring, in 2013, Ferrari finished in fourth place with Fernando Alonso, while Felipe Massa was the first retirement of the race. It was the first time since 1999 that neither Ferrari driver appeared on the podium at the circuit. 1999 also happens to be the last time that Ferrari failed to score here, while 1997 is the only time that no Ferrari drivers reached the end of the race. The team won five of the seven European Grands Prix between 2000 and 2006. Massa was the team’s third retirement in the last four races at the track.
Ferrari have more poles at the Nurburgring than anyone else, having started from the front of the grid on fifteen occasions. Their most recent pole here, in 2007, is the last time that the team started from the front row at the circuit. 1999 is the last time that a Ferrari driver failed to qualify in the top ten at this track, with Mika Salo lining up twelfth on the grid. There is yet to be a race at the Nurburgring which Ferrari have entered in which none of their cars have qualified in the top ten.
RED BULL
WINS: 2, POLES: 2, PODIUMS: 5
Red Bull have finished on the podium in all of the last four races held at the Nurburgring, and secured a 1-2 result at the 2009 German Grand Prix – which is the most recent time that a team has finished first and second in a race at the circuit. Since becoming Red Bull in 2005, 2006 is the only visit to the track in which the team has failed to score. On that day, both drivers retired. Vitantonio Liuzzi’s ninth place in the 2005 European Grand Prix is the only other time that a Red Bull driver has failed to pick up points at the circuit.
At least one Red Bull car has lined up on the front row of the grid in all of the last three F1 races at the Nurburgring, with Mark Webber taking pole in both 2009 and 2011. Webber was the first Red Bull driver to reach Q3 at this circuit, doing so by qualifying in sixth position for the 2007 European Grand Prix.
McLAREN
WINS: 5, POLES: 4, PODIUMS: 15
McLaren have the longest streak of consecutive appearances at the Nurburgring, having raced in every Grand Prix here since 1968. On their last visit to the Nurburgring, McLaren finished with Jenson Button in sixth place and Sergio Perez eighth, marking the first time that both of their drivers had scored in a race at the circuit since 2001. The team have won two of the last four Nurburgring races, with Fernando Alonso emerging victorious in the 2007 European Grand Prix, and Lewis Hamilton winning the 2011 German Grand Prix. While the team have recorded only one retirement in the last four races at the circuit (Button, in 2011), the team recorded seven retirements in the five races between 2002 and 2006. 2003 and 2004 are the most recent of six occasions when neither of the team’s cars have reached the chequered flag.
McLaren have taken pole position four times at the Nurburgring: in 1976, 1997, 2000 and most recently with Kimi Raikkonen at the 2003 European Grand Prix. The team has never locked out the front row at the track, but have had a further five front row starts; the most recent of those being for Lewis Hamilton in 2011. In the last race at the circuit, Sergio Perez became the first McLaren driver to fail to reach Q3 at the circuit since the knockout system was introduced in 2006. It was only the second time in the last sixteen races at the circuit (since 1995) that a McLaren driver failed to qualify in the top ten. The other driver who failed to do so was David Coulthard, who qualified eighteenth for the 2004 European Grand Prix.
RENAULT
WINS: 1, POLES: 1, PODIUMS: 2
The last time Formula 1 visited the Nurburgring, the Enstone team finished the race with both cars on the podium, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing as runner-up and Romain Grosjean in third place. The team has scored in all of the last nine races at the circuit, with Renault having last been victorious here in the 2005 European Grand Prix. The only other time that the Enstone team has won here was in 1995, under their Benetton guise.
2006 is the only year in which a Renault driver has started from pole position at the Nurburgring. On F1’s last visit to the track, both of the team’s drivers qualified in the top five – the only time the team has managed to do this at the circuit in any of its various guises. Fernando Alonso’s pole position in 2006 is the only time that the team has qualified on the front row at the circuit.
ALPHATAURI
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0
Though this will be the first race for AlphaTauri at the Nurburgring, the Red Bull junior team has competed at the circuit on five previous occasions. Toro Rosso never scored at the circuit, with a best finish of eleventh for Scott Speed in 2006. If you include the team’s history as Minardi, then they have only ever picked up one point at the circuit, with a sixth place finish for Marc Gene in 1999. Toro Rosso recorded five retirements in the last five Nurburgring races, with 2011 being the only season in which both of their cars reached the chequered flag at this circuit.
In the last F1 race at the Nurburgring, Daniel Ricciardo scored the best ever qualifying result at the circuit for the team. He became the first Toro Rosso driver to progress to Q3 at the Nurburgring, qualifying in sixth place. It’s the only time that any driver for Minardi or Toro Rosso has qualified in a position better than sixteenth at the track. Both Toro Rosso drivers were eliminated in Q1 at the circuit in 2007 and 2009.
RACING POINT
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0
2020 will mark Racing Point’s first (and final) outing at the Nurburgring, but the Silverstone-team has previously raced at the circuit as Jordan, Midland, Spyker and Force India. Jordan finished with both cars in the points in their first two races here, in 1995 and 1996, but the team has scored on only one occasion since. That was in 2011, when Adrian Sutil finished in sixth place. Despite that, there have been a few memorable moments for the team here; including when Markus Winkelhock led on debut in the rain-soaked 2007 European Grand Prix, though both cars would eventually retire from that race. The team is no stranger to double DNFs at the Nurburgring. Between 1997 and 2002, Jordan recorded ten retirements in six races at the track.
The team has one previous pole position at the Nurburgring, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen having started from the front for Jordan in 1999. That came in the middle of a run of five consecutive races at the circuit where both cars qualified in the top ten. Since 2001, the team has qualified in the top ten at the track only twice, with Adrian Sutil qualifying seventh in 2009 and eighth in 2011. Both cars were eliminated in Q2 in the most recent race at the track.
ALFA ROMEO
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 1
Alfa Romeo has made three previous appearances at the Nurburgring, in 1951, 1984 and 1985. From those, 1985 is the only time that the team has failed to score at the track, while Juan Manuel Fangio recorded the team’s only podium finish here with second place in the 1951 German Grand Prix.
This will be the first F1 race at the Nurburgring to not feature the Sauber name on the grid since 1985, with the team having re-branded as Alfa Romeo in 2019. Sauber recorded eight retirements in their first seven races at the track, but have not recorded a DNF at the track since 2001. Since 2001, the team scored on all but two appearances, with both cars finishing in the points in both 2002 and 2007. Sauber’s best result here is sixth, recorded by Felipe Massa in 2002, Giancarlo Fisichella in 2004 and Nick Heidfeld in 2007.
2001 and 2007 are the only seasons in which both Sauber drivers qualified in the top ten at the Nurburgring, with their best qualifying result of fourth being recorded in their BMW Sauber days in 2007 by Nick Heidfeld. Nico Hulkenberg’s tenth place in qualifying in 2013 is the only time in the last three races at the circuit that a Sauber driver qualified in the top ten.
HAAS
WINS: 0, POLES: 0, PODIUMS: 0
Haas are the only team with no previous experience at the Nurburgring. The team joined the sport in 2016, three years after Formula 1 last visited the circuit.
WILLIAMS
WINS: 3, POLES: 4, PODIUMS: 9
Williams have not scored at the Nurburgring since 2009. The team has taken three victories at the circuit, in 1996, 1997 and 2003. They scored a 1-2 finish in 2003, with 1997 being the only other year in which both Williams drivers have finished on the podium at the circuit. In addition to those two occurences, 1996 and 2001 are the only other years in which both Williams drivers have finished in the points at the track. Their last podium finish here was in 2005, when Nick Heidfeld finished as runner-up.
Williams have taken four pole positions at the Nurburgring, and have locked out the front row on three occasions: in 1995, 1996 and 2002. The team have not qualified in the top ten at the track since 2006. That remains the team’s only Q3 appearance since the knockout qualifying system was introduced that year. On F1’s last visit to the Nurburgring, the team recorded their first Q1 exits at the circuit, with both Valtteri Bottas and Pastor Maldonado eliminated in Q1.
