Why The Hockenheimring is Abandoned in a forest

The Hockenheimring is one of Formula 1's most famous circuits with a history dating back to 1932. But today, most of the old track layout sits abandoned in a forest. Why did this circuit change so much? And how big of a role did safety play during the Hockenheimring's time in Formula 1? The circuit still exists but the current layout is much different to what it used to be. The old forest section sits abandoned and partially torn up in a forest, and still to this day, many people prefer the original Hockenheimring. Enjoy!

#F1 #Formula1 #Hockenheimring

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[crazyfrog]

The security was always a joke at Hockenheimring. My dad drove after the race with a local over the track to avoid traffic. They where stoped asked what they doing. They said they are from RTL and collecting TV cable and passed (1994)

[rossdark]

It is a shame that this amazing track has been killed off. The sight and sound of the V10s and V12 of the 90s running flat out through the forest, it was an amazing track. A classic, that should have been kept.

[SuperKuba]

It's very sad that is abandoned tbh. It was a very interesting scene racing in the forest. Also it produced some of the most iconic moments in F1 History.

[schuey]

2002 was a terrible shock to me. No one told me they were changing it and it was my favorite track in F1 World championship on N64. I was furious. Excellent tribute.

[AzureKite]

Hockenheimring was such a great track. It's a shame it's been abandoned, but hopefully one day it'll be restored to its former glory.

[rogercarl]

With every track in F1 being so full of curves, Hockenheim was a breath of fresh air. The grandstand was also wonderful to watch as the crowd would rise in anticipation of the cars coming into sight. On other circuits they stick stands anywhere, mostly as an afterthought. The cars themselves were front and center of the race. On TV it shined--must have been one of my favourite circuits to watch.

[benn]

The story I know goes a bit differently. Nobody forced Hockenheim to be changed. The thing was that the entry fees for the tracks were already getting more and more expensive back then and the track operators simply wanted a shorter track where they could put up several new grandstands on top of that in order to sell more tickets. Safety and maintenance costs for the long forest sections also played a role, of course.

[KingWeir]

I can understand why they did for safety but watching on TV, seeing those cars zooming down deep through the forest was an awesome sight.

[rayyu]

The old Hockenheimring layout was a true engine track, so as long as the car have a strong engine, will be competitive there, which is one thing that really miss from the tracks in the current calendar.

[MrNice-zmqk]

Grew up a few kilometers away from Hockenheim and been there for a couple of events. It's always been amazing to hear the engines on race weekends while sitting in front of the tv and watching the race.
And it's a shame what they did to the layout. Loved the old long circuit but I can't get used to the new layout.

[soundscape]

Super iconic track layout back in the day. A shame it was neutered and even bigger shame it's not on the calendar anymore.

[EvilVoices]

It breaks my heart, to see this legendary track covert with grass. It was like german Le Mans, high speed, the ultimate engine test for formula 1 cars. I miss this track so much.

[ChristopherBuenviaje]

Man, I remember how Ruben Barrichello winning that race in 2000 coming from 18th place. It was still the huge track with sweeping tree lines.

[samvarewyck]

I actually visited the site on a very foggy November day two years ago. Had a great walk in the woods trying to trace the old track and found the hidden Jim Clark memorial. Would recommend!

[amymac]

This is the one track I truly miss, so many amazing races there. I am a huge Hakkinen fan so I think there's one overtaking move that ranks right up there as one of the greatest ever! 👌

[LucidSomnia]

I remember watching Barichello win the 2000 gp like it was yesterday.. such a beautiful place to race, the view of the forest, half track wet from the rain and the other half dry, what a race, I truly miss it.

[calibri]

It's greatly missed. In these days we have a lot of tracks with 20 corners or so. Hockenheim would have been a breath of fresh air.

[svend.]

I was there from 1999 to 2002 and on my first visit I had a ticket for the first chicane, after the first full-throttle straight. At that time there were still these wonderful high-revving V12 engines. Needless to say, even getting there during a training session was completely insane: those engines shrieked, howled, banged and thundered so hard you thought it was war and a supersonic jet flies by while a main battle tank fires. Every time my hair stood up with joy and I got goosebumps. Before braking for the chicane, the drivers shifted down the gears and the misfires made the F1 cars bang so hard that the earth shook. David Coulthard set a new speed record for this track and we were the happiest people in the world because that sound was so awesome. It smelled of burnt rubber, of burnt oil-petrol mixture and the air was flirty. F1 was so loud and dirty back then, nothing compared to today. And really no one was worried about the environment or had a bad conscience. Man I miss those times.

[Andre_The_Millennial]

This is what Hermann Tilke said about the track reconfiguration: *“The original idea was just to broaden the existing track according to current safety regulations, and to keep the track to its original length. At that time the restrictions and possibilities the site offered were not clear however and the idea eventually proved unfeasible.”*

Plus the costs of maintaining such a large venue was a major factor in the track layout change.

[Lausitzde]

I used to live in Hockenheim and in the 80's it was great to walk into the forest taking a campinchair with you and find a good place to watch and HEAR Senna, Piquet and Prost in the Turbocharged F1 Cars.
Was a great time