Hockenheimring

Hockenheimring at a glance

Location

Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg

Type

road course

Length

4.574 km (2.842 mi)

Turns

17

Direction

clockwise

Surface

asphalt

Opened

1932

Owner

City of Hockenheim (Hockenheim-Ring GmbH)

Capacity

120,000

Address

Am Motodrom

Phone

+49 6205 950-222

Website

hockenheimring.de/en

Track map and layout

Hockenheimring's current configuration dates to a 2002 Hermann Tilke redesign that replaced the circuit's old high-speed forest loop through the Hardtwald with a tighter, more technical infield, shortening the lap to 4.574 km with 17 corners. The lap opens onto the long Parabolika straight leading into the Mercedes-Arena chicane, then heads into a stadium-style final sector where the Motodrom's tightly packed grandstands surround several corners at once, giving spectators views of much of the closing laps from a single seat. The forest section that once made Hockenheim one of the fastest circuits on the F1 calendar is now mostly closed to racing, though remnants of the old track survive as public roads and cycle paths.

Named corners and sections

• Mercedes-Arena. A tight chicane at the end of the Parabolika straight, added in the 2002 redesign as the circuit's primary overtaking and braking zone.
• Sachskurve. A fast right-hander leading into the stadium section, named after German driver Bernd Rosemeyer's contemporaries; a key setup corner for the final sector.
• Nordkurve. The tight final corner of the lap, leading back onto the start-finish straight inside the Motodrom stadium.
• Spitzkehre. A slow hairpin in the stadium infield, one of the lap's few genuine overtaking spots alongside the Mercedes-Arena.

Configurations

Events and race weekends

Hockenheimring has long alternated the German Grand Prix with the Nürburgring, most recently hosting Formula 1 in 2019, and remains a leading candidate to return to the calendar. The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) has raced there since 2000 and closes its season at Hockenheim most years. ADAC Hockenheim Historic gathers historic single-seaters and touring cars each spring, and NitrOlympX, one of Europe's biggest drag racing meetings, has run on the circuit's dragstrip since 1986.

Getting there and parking

Hockenheim sits in the Rhine valley of northern Baden-Württemberg, about 20 km south of Mannheim and close to Heidelberg. Hockenheim's own railway station, on the Mannheim-Karlsruhe line, is a short walk or shuttle from the circuit and the easiest way in for fans without a car, with direct connections from Mannheim (around 20 minutes) and onward links from Heidelberg, Frankfurt and Stuttgart. Road access is via the A6 and A61 autobahns, which back up heavily around race sessions on major event weekends.

• Frankfurt Airport (FRA) · about 75 min drive
• Stuttgart Airport (STR) · about 78 min drive

Parking

General parking fields surround the circuit and are typically included with event tickets; arriving early is recommended for DTM and other big race weekends.

Take the train to Hockenheim station rather than driving for busy weekends — it sits close to the circuit gates and avoids the worst of the A6/A61 traffic.

Hotels and camping near Hockenheimring

Hockenheim town itself has limited hotel stock, so many visitors base themselves in Heidelberg (about 20 minutes away) for its far larger range of hotels and guesthouses, or in Mannheim, which offers easy rail access back to the circuit. Rooms in both cities rise in price and book out around DTM and any Formula 1 weekends.

Where to look

Heidelberg and Mannheim offer the widest choice of hotels within about 20-30 minutes' drive; Hotel Motodrom provides on-site accommodation directly at the circuit.

Track days, driving experiences and lap records

Hockenheimring runs its own program of driving experiences, race taxi rides and tourist laps (Race'n'Roll) for the public, plus an on-site e-kart track, and hosts numerous third-party car and motorcycle track days throughout the season on both the Grand Prix and shorter National circuits.

Who runs days here

• Hockenheimring (Race'n'Roll driving experiences and race taxi)both
• Bridgestone Driving Experiencecar
• GEDLICH Racingcar

Typical cost: Tourist/experience laps and race taxi rides from roughly €50-€150 depending on car and number of laps; open track days from around €150-€250 per day

Lap records

Spectator guide

The Motodrom stadium section is Hockenheimring's biggest spectator draw, with grandstands stacked around the Nordkurve, Sachskurve and Spitzkehre giving a view of several corners and much of the closing laps from one seat. The long Parabolika straight and Mercedes-Arena chicane are also popular for watching overtaking and braking under load.

Seating

Grandstands are concentrated around the stadium infield (Nordtribüne, Südtribüne and similar stands) plus stands along the main straight and at the Mercedes-Arena.

Best places to watch

Motodrom stadium seats give the best value, covering several corners at once; standing areas near the Mercedes-Arena chicane are good for close braking and overtaking action.

Weather

• May (Hockenheim Historic): mild spring weather, highs around 18-22°C
• October (DTM finale): cooler autumn conditions, highs around 12-16°C, chance of rain

History of Hockenheimring

From triangle circuit to Grand Prix venue

Hockenheimring opened in 1932 as the Hockenheimer Dreieck, a roughly 12 km triangular circuit built through the Hardtwald forest to give Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union a fast test track. It was shortened in the late 1930s and rebuilt again after the Second World War, gradually growing into a long, high-speed forest circuit punctuated by a tight stadium section near the town, a combination that made it one of the fastest tracks on the calendar and a favourite of slipstreaming battles through the 1970s and 1980s.

Tragedy, safety concerns and the 2002 redesign

The forest sections' speed came at a cost: Jim Clark was killed there in a Formula 2 race in 1968, and safety concerns persisted through the following decades despite chicanes added to slow the track. After the 2000 German Grand Prix exposed further safety and visibility problems, Hermann Tilke redesigned the circuit for 2002, cutting the lap from 6.823 km to 4.574 km, removing most of the forest straights and building a compact, stadium-heavy infield intended to keep more of the lap visible from the grandstands.

A modern multi-purpose circuit

Since the redesign, Hockenheimring has alternated hosting the German Grand Prix with the Nürburgring, most recently in 2019, and remains a regular fixture for DTM touring cars, historic racing at ADAC Hockenheim Historic, and drag racing at NitrOlympX on its dedicated strip. Owned by the city of Hockenheim, the circuit continues to run public driving experiences, race taxi rides and club track days alongside its championship calendar, and is frequently discussed as a candidate for a future return to Formula 1.

Frequently asked questions

Other tracks nearby

• MSC Wieslauftal Rudersberg · 86 km · motocross
• MSC Straßbessenbach · 87 km · motocross
• Nürburgring · 161 km · road course
• Motorsport Club Nürnberg (Norisring organiser) · 186 km · club
• Norisring · 186 km · street circuit
• Zürich Street Circuit · 219 km · historic circuit (defunct)