George Russell has spoken out about a possible return of the Nürburgring to the F1 calendar. The Brit was present this week at the iconic German circuit for a Pirelli tire test and left no doubt about his appreciation for the historic track. Formula 1 last raced there during the 2020 corona season, when a one-off Eifel Grand Prix was held at the Nürburgring.
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At the time, Russell was still driving for Williams, but returned this week to the Nürburgring in service of Mercedes. After a special tire test for Pirelli, he spoke positively about a possible return of the circuit to the calendar. “I really enjoyed my laps,” he told Sky Sports, “and I really love the Nürburgring. I have also done a few laps on the Nordschleife and I loved that too. It is really a traditional, old-fashioned circuit. I would love to race there again someday. Of course, we currently have no races in Germany and now that I am driving here with Mercedes, it would be nice to have one back on the calendar.”
No performance gain
Despite the many test kilometers, Mercedes itself will gain little direct performance benefit from the session. The Pirelli test has strict rules: teams may not change their own setups, runs are monitored by the tire supplier, and even the compounds used remain unknown to the teams. Therefore, it is mainly about data for Pirelli, not about car development.
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Russell was also clear about practicing starts, even though there is still much to gain for Mercedes in that area. “We are here because it is a Pirelli tire test, so we are not allowed to do starts, and that applies to every team doing tire tests,” he explained. “But we are working hard behind the scenes on data analysis. Our sport is unique because you cannot practice much; it is part of the rules that you are not allowed to drive. Of course, we would like to do many starts. We have some ideas about where we fall short on starts, so hopefully we can keep working on that.”
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George is on track at the Nürburgring
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— Mercedes-AMG Passion Club (@MercedesAMGPCF1) April 14, 2026
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