Red Bull brings F1 back to the Nurburgring Nordschleife

More than 60,000 fans watched Sebastian Vettel tackle the fearsome Nordschleife circuit in his title-winning RB7 F1 car.

Red Bull Nurburgring 2023

Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel have brought the excitement of Formula 1 back to Germany’s legendary Nurburgring Nordschleife circuit

At a weekend packed with motorsport action, the highlight was seeing Vettel take to the track in a Red Bull Racing RB7 Formula 1 car. 

The RB7 was previously used by the four-time Formula 1 World Champion during his dominant 2011 season. That year, Vettel won 11 of the 19 races with the RB7, making it one of the most successful Formula 1 cars ever.

Pushing F1 to a carbon-neutral future

Red Bull Nurburgring 2023

Driving a modern Formula 1 car around the Nurburgring Nordschleife requires serious commitment. Vettel had to contend with some 154 corners on the undulating circuit, which measures close to 13 miles in length.

Formula 1 stopped using the full Nordschleife circuit after Niki Lauda’s horrifying crash in 1976. A modern Nurburgring track hosted F1 racing action until 2020, and was the scene of Vettel’s 2013 Eifel Grand Prix victory.

For its return to the Nurburgring, the Red Bull Racing RB7 was powered by carbon-neutral fuel. Vettel commented: “I feel like I’m in a time capsule – a lot of memories have come up once I got into the car. It’s going to be a lot of fun going on the big track and doing it in a way that I am happy with. Somehow everything fits together here today – including the fact that we are now running the car with CO2-neutral fuel.”

A celebration of motorsport

Red Bull Nurburgring 2023

Alongside Vettel at the event was current Scuderia AlphaTauri driver Yuki Tsunoda in a Honda NSX GT3 Evo, along with former F1 drivers David Coulthard, Gerhard Berger and Ralf Schumacher. 

Jos Verstappen, father of current Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen, took to the track in the all-electric Ford Transit Supervan 4.2. Mathias Lauda, son of the late Niki Lauda, drove a Ferrari 312 B3-74 used by his father. 

Other highlights included Red Bull drift cars, freestyle motocross exhibitions and even a NASCAR on the Nordschleife.

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John Redfern
John Redfern
U.S. Editor with a love of all things Americana. Woodgrain-clad station wagons and ridiculous muscle cars a speciality.

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