George Russell says he would “love” Formula 1 to return to the Nürburgring after sampling the track again during a Pirelli tyre test this week.
Low clouds drifted across the Eifel mountains as the sound of a modern F1 car echoed once more around the circuit's sweeping layout.
For a brief spell, the venue – so steeped in history – felt alive with Grand Prix energy again, even if the stopwatch meant little and the stakes were purely technical.
And Russell wasted no time in expressing just how much the 5.14 km track still matters to those behind the wheel.
“I’ve really enjoyed driving this morning,” Russell said after his climbing out of the cockpit. “I really love the Nürburgring. I’ve done a few laps on the Nordschleife as well and really loved that.
“It truly is a traditional old-school circuit. I’d love to be back racing here one day. Of course, we have no race in Germany at the moment and being here with Mercedes, it would be nice to have one back on the calendar.”
Germany’s absence from Formula 1 remains striking. Once a mainstay of the championship, the country last hosted a race in 2020, when the Nürburgring returned under the name of the Eifel Grand Prix during the sport’s pandemic-affected season.
Russell, then racing for Williams, was part of that unusual chapter – making this week’s return in Mercedes colours all the more symbolic.
Data over development
While the setting stirred emotion, the reality of the test was far more controlled. With Pirelli overseeing proceedings, participating teams Mercedes and McLaren were bound by strict limits – fixed run plans, no setup experimentation, and even tyre compounds kept hidden from the drivers.
It also meant no opportunity to address one of Mercedes’ known weak points: race starts.
“We’re here because it’s a Pirelli tyre test, so we’re not allowed to do any starts, and that’s the same for every team when they do tyre testing,” Russell explained.
“But we’re working a lot behind the scenes, just analysing the data. Our sport is different because you don’t get the opportunity to practice so much. It’s part of the rules that you’re not allowed to drive.
“Of course, we would love to be out there doing loads and loads of starts. We have some ideas where we’ve been falling short on the starts, so hopefully, we can keep going on that.”
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For now, Formula 1’s presence at the Nürburgring is fleeting – a test session rather than a race weekend, a whisper rather than a roar.
But as Russell pushed through its corners once again, the argument for a full-time return felt tangible. Not just as a nod to history, but as a reminder of what makes certain circuits timeless.
If Formula 1 is searching for venues that still stir the soul, the message from one of its current stars is unmistakable: the Nürburgring is ready.
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