Nürburgring holds "emotional" attachment for Wolff

Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff has claimed the Nürburgring holds an "emotional" attachment for him ahead of Formula 1's return to the circuit this weekend.

Given Wolff's role, it is easy to forget he enjoyed a moderately successful career as a driver himself.

In 2009, however, while on a lap record attempt around the Nordschleife, the more expansive circuit compared to the track layout for grands prix, Wolff was involved in the biggest accident of his career.

After suffering a tyre blowout, Wolff lost control of his Porsche 977 RSR on the second fast lap of his run and made heavy contact with the barriers.

Wolff was still successful in setting a new class record at the time with a lap of seven minutes 3.28secs.

Looking ahead towards this weekend, Wolff said: “I think for Mercedes it is always good to have a race in Germany and coming back to the Nürburgring is nice. It’s a track that we like.

"I particularly have an emotional relationship with the Nürburgring, and if you saw the weather during the 24 Hours, it is going to be certainly exciting with low temperatures and maybe rain.

“But the Eifel is good for everything so we are looking forward [to it]."

The weekend will not only spark individual memories for Wolff, but also for the team as it will be impossible to race at the Nürburgring without pausing to think about its former non-executive chairman Niki Lauda.

Wolff added: "At the end, you score points everywhere and you are more attached to certain tracks than to others and I guess we just need to have a good race there like we had in Russia.”

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