The Nurburgring Nordschleife is one of the most legendary tracks in the world and so are the cars that conquer it. It looks like Red Bull must feel the same way, as they plan to take one of their F1 cars to the German circuit in September.
The run will be part of an entire event during the 12 Hours of Nurburgring race weekend, which Red Bull is calling the Red Bull Formula Nurburgring. The event will feature Red Bull cars from various racing series, with the aim “to bring young motorsport talent and legendary drivers from various racing series to the highlight of the Nürburgring Endurance Series season”.
Read more: For $120K you can get Red Bull’s RB18 and F1 racing simulator – or a real Porsche 911
It’s been 10 years since F1 tires last touched the Nordschleife, the last event being Michael Schumacher’s lap in his Mercedes F1 car ahead of the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in 2013. More famously, Nick Heidfeld took a BMW Sauber for a demonstration at the track in 2007, but one thing both runs have in common is that neither was at full race pace.
The last time Formula 1 cars raced around the Nordschleife was in 1976, and Niki Lauda’s fiery, near-fatal crash in that race is one that hasn’t been seen since. For today’s F1 cars, there is not enough run-off to slow an out-of-control car, the wooded landscape makes it difficult to extricate vehicles in the event of an accident, and the sheer size of the track makes it difficult to fully staff marshals. On top of that, the track surface is just too hard, so you end up either putting your driver’s safety at risk or compromising the car’s performance with a setup that can handle the track (resulting in lower speeds) .
See also: Ford working with Red Bull on mysterious ‘strategically important’ EV
Therefore, this Red Bull event will in all likelihood not see the car running at full power, nor will it be run in any of their modern cars. That being said, the speeds achieved by the car will almost certainly continue to be high compared to even the fastest street cars and potentially give the average race car a run for its money.
As for who will be in the cockpit for this race, nothing has been announced yet, but it is most likely that we will see one of Red Bull’s regular show drivers – either David Coulthard or Liam Lawson – behind the wheel. However, there is a chance we could see newly appointed Daniel Ricciardo drive the car as there will be no F1 race this weekend where he may have to take on backup duties.
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The Nurburgring Nordschleife is one of the world’s most legendary racetracks, and the cars that conquer it are equally so. It seems Red Bull must feel the same way, as they plan on taking one of their Formula 1 cars to the German track in September."
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The run will come as part of a whole event during the 12h Nurburgring race weekend, which Red Bull is calling the Red Bull Formula Nurburgring. The event will feature Red Bull cars from a variety of racing series, with the goal being to “bring young motorsport talent and legendary drivers from various racing series to the season highlight of the Nürburgring Endurance Series”."
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Read More: For $120K, You Can Get Red Bull And F1’s RB18 Racing Simulator – Or A Real Porsche 911"
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It’s been 10 years since F1 tires last touched the Nordschleife, with the most recent occurrence being Michael Schumacher’s lap in his Mercedes F1 car before the 2013 24h Nurburgring. More famously, Nick Heidfeld took a BMW Sauber for a demo run around the circuit for in 2007, but one thing both of these runs have in common is that neither were at full race pace. "
[4]=>
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The last time F1 cars actually raced around the Nordschleife was in 1976, and Niki Lauda’s fiery, near-fatal crash in that race is exactly there hasn’t been another one since. For today’s F1 cars, there’s not enough runoff to slow an out-of-control car, the wooded landscape makes it hard to retrieve vehicles in the event of an accident, and the sheer size of the track makes it hard to fully staff with enough marshals. On top of all that, the track’s surface is simply too punishing, so you end up either putting your driver’s safety at risk, or you compromise the car’s performance with a setup that can handle the track (the result of which is slower speeds)."
[5]=>
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See Also: Ford Working With Red Bull On A Mystery ‘Strategically Important’ EV"
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That’s why this Red Bull event will, in all likelihood, not see the car running at full tilt, nor will it be run with one of their modern cars. That being said, the speeds being achieved by the car will almost certainly still be fast compared to even the fastest of street cars, and will potentially give the average race car a run for its money."
[7]=>
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As for who will be in the cockpit for this run, nothing has been announced yet, but we’re most likely to see one of Red Bull’s regular show drivers — either David Coulthard or Liam Lawson — behind the wheel. However, there is the chance we could see the newly reappointed Daniel Ricciardo drive the car, as there won’t be an F1 race that weekend where he might have to take on reserve duties. "
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