F1 race where Lewis Hamilton took famous win could make return

Lewis Hamilton smiling at the Qatar Grand Prix — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 News & Gossip

F1 race where Lewis Hamilton took famous win could make return

Could Germany be set for a return to the calendar?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Tuesday 13 January 2026 13:42

A legendary F1 track could be set for a return to the F1 calendar, with the country not having held a race since 2020.

The German Grand Prix was previously a fixture on the F1 calendar, with the Hockenheimring holding races every year between 1986-2006, before a biannual split between the Hockenheimring and legendary race track the Nurburgring took place between 2008-2014.

The race then went through a period of less regular appearances on the F1 calendar, before dropping off completely in 2019. The Nurburgring did later hold the 2020 Eifel GP in the Covid-hit F1 season, but the sport has not visited Germany since.

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In the F1 era, Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher are tied for the most German Grand Prix wins, with four apiece. Hamilton's most recent victory at the German GP came in 2018, when he claimed the win from 14th on the grid, following a dramatic crash for his championship rival Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton did also win the Eifel GP at the Nurburgring, and now a potential return to the country has not been ruled out. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has said that if either of the two tracks - or indeed a different track - present the right offer, then he would be willing to return to the home of legends including Schumacher, Vettel and Nico Rosberg.

"We are open and prepared for any kind of discussion," he told Motorsport Magazin. "I see some signs of optimism and I hope this will evolve in the coming months.

"We are interested in returning to Germany, but with the right organiser and the right offer.

"The good thing is that we’re not desperate, because we have many requests from all over the world.

"If the German market doesn’t see a return to Formula 1 as a priority, we have to accept it and look ahead."

Hamilton's 2018 German GP win

Hamilton headed into the 2018 race eight points behind Vettel in the championship standings, and it was looking like we were going to have a two-team championship fight for the first time since 2012.

And after Hamilton could only qualify 14th after an unlucky red flag during qualifying, Vettel and Ferrari would have been given even more confidence.

Vettel then led the race from the start, fighting off team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Hamilton's team-mate Valtteri Bottas, while Hamilton began making up positions in the midfield.

However, as rain started to fall, Vettel was caught out on lap 52, crashing into the barriers and ending his participation in the race.

That brought out a safety car, and Hamilton and his Mercedes team opted not to pit, giving them the lead of the race but with older tyres.

Raikkonen and Bottas could not do anything about it when the race restarted, however, with Mercedes calling off the race between Hamilton and Bottas in order to secure a crucial one-two in their pursuit of yet another championship double.

F1 Lewis Hamilton German Grand Prix