Michael Schumacher will get back behind the wheel of an F1 car on the Nurburgring Nordschleife next month, Mercedes has confirmed.
Schumacher will drive a 2011 W02 on the longer version of the track which held Germany’s round of the world championship between 1951 and 1976.
“Schumacher will post a demonstration lap on the Nurburgring?óÔé¼Ôäós legendary Nordschleife in a Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 W02 to say ‘thank you’ to his fans for their years of loyal support during his F1 career,” said Mercedes in a statement.
The run will take place on Sunday 19th May ahead of the start of this year’s Nurburgring 24 Hours sportscar race.
Schumacher said: “I have a lot of fond memories of the Nurburgring and am really looking forward to giving fans and friends from my home town of Kerpen, which is quite close to the Nurburgring, something to remember as they see me drive by.”
“But it will be a fantastic experience for me too, driving along the Nordschleife in a state-of?óÔé¼ÔÇ£the-art Formula 1 Silver Arrow, particularly in view of the fact that the Silver Arrow?óÔé¼Ôäós legend began here. Posting a lap in a modern Silver Arrow on the most beautiful and most testing circuit in the world, what a brilliant mix ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ it?óÔé¼Ôäós every motor racing driver?óÔé¼Ôäós dream!”
Recent F1 drivers and cars to have tackled the Nurburgring Nordschleife including the following:
- Nick Heidfeld on the Nurburgring Nordschleife
- Nico Hulkenberg laps Nordschleife in Williams Hybrid Porsche
- Kimi Raikkonen laps the old Nurburgring with Kim Dotcom
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Image ?é?® Mercedes/Hoch Zwei
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
25th April 2013, 10:42
Hope he pushes more than Heidfeld did in the BMW..
gatekiller (@gatekiller)
25th April 2013, 10:45
Sounds like he won’t be pushing it at all. Which is a shame…
DVC (@dvc)
25th April 2013, 11:31
I don’t know. His quote seems a bit more racy.
DaveD (@daved)
25th April 2013, 17:14
It would be cool if he could officially break the 6 minute barrier.
Journeyer (@journeyer)
25th April 2013, 10:43
So… will he go for the lap record? I hope he does. Will they allow him to, though?
BasCB (@bascb)
25th April 2013, 14:32
I am pretty sure they won’t allow that.
Journeyer (@journeyer)
25th April 2013, 14:40
@bascb Another World Champion wants to see it happen, though.
MarioAndretti: Wow, M Schumacher to tackle Nordschleife in ’11 Mercedes #F1 car. Will we see a 4min lap? Sounds like worth the trip to see. @MercedesAMGF1
Perhaps this will put at least a bit of pressure on Mercedes to give Michael 1 crack at the record.
Todfod (@todfod)
25th April 2013, 15:56
Mercedes should give him a shot… and get Hamilton to do it if he cant get the job done :P
tokyospark (@tokyospark)
26th April 2013, 8:51
He should just go for it. What are they gonna do, fire him? It’s his farewell lap!
BasCB (@bascb)
26th April 2013, 14:46
Let us hope he does @journeyer
jh1806 (@jh1806)
25th April 2013, 10:47
I’m going to the ‘ring about 1 week after this, cannot believe I will miss it!
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
25th April 2013, 10:56
What you need is the International Date Line….7 of them..
goondu86 (@goondu86)
25th April 2013, 10:48
Even if they do not allow a proper run, it’ll be amazing to see current day F1 car on 1 of the legendary tracks. And we need in car footage of the whole run on Youtube with 1080p. That will be all.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th April 2013, 11:14
Does anyone know if Schumacher’s raced on the Nordschleife before? I don’t believe he did in his DTM and F3 days.
David Livingstone
25th April 2013, 11:54
I’m almost positive he raced Sportscars there for Mercedes in 1990? With HHF and co?
Boomerang
25th April 2013, 12:11
And never raced in DTM.
ajokay (@)
25th April 2013, 12:21
Wikipedia said he did once, in 1990.
Rambler
25th April 2013, 12:45
before or after your visit?
socksolid (@socksolid)
25th April 2013, 16:44
@Rambler
LOL!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
25th April 2013, 12:20
Schumacher did four races in the DTM in 1991 (and entered one without starting it the year before).
He raced at the Nurburging twice in sportscars but it was on the short circuit:
Michael Schumacher: the Mercedes years
Boomerang
25th April 2013, 22:06
Sorry Keith, my comment wasn’t correct one. At that time Klaus Ludwig and co have drawn much more attention in DTM. I checked the information and you’re right, Michael participated in four races. According to German Wikipedia DTM took place on Nordschleife from 1988 to 1993. Consequently, there is a possibility of Michael driving there.
matt90 (@matt90)
25th April 2013, 14:23
I think prototypes stopped using the Nordschleife in the mid 80’s when the new circuit was completed.
dragoll (@dragoll)
25th April 2013, 12:08
@keithcollantine I did a bit of a hunt, and I found this, I suspect he has only raced the Nurburgring short circuit, but this gives you a list of all his races and results, including Formula 3 & Sportscars
http://www.motorsport-archive.com/drivers/driver/detail/id/Michael%20Schumacher
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
25th April 2013, 13:49
@dragoll This trumps FORIX and driverdb…
dennis (@dennis)
25th April 2013, 17:20
@keithcollantine
Schumacher did 4 official races in DTM. But they count as two heats per venue. Norisring (2) and Diepholz (2) in 1991.
Hockenheim 1990 as guest starter (famously crashing out Cecotto and destroying his titel hopes).
From 1984 on sportscars were only racing the GP-track. Bellof won the first race together with Derek Bell, after he set that remarkable 6.11 pole lap the year earlier.
Formula König and Formula 3 never drove on the northern loop while Michael Schumacher was in his early days.
So apart from his occasional Ferrari test drive…
http://images.caradisiac.com/logos/4/1/8/3/114183/S5-Schumi-testeur-de-Ferrari-sur-la-Nordschleife-17115.jpg
He never actually ‘raced’ on the northern loop. But he sure does know the track.
andae23 (@andae23)
25th April 2013, 12:09
Let’s go through this once again, shall we?
– This is an evolution of the original 2009 Brawn GP car, which in its development process was rebranded as a ‘Mercedes’, after the eponymous car manufacturer decided to buy the team that had somehow won the championship that year.
– This is the silver arrow. Not ‘a’ silver arrow, but ‘the’ silver arrow.
fangio85 (@fangio85)
25th April 2013, 14:35
“Silver arrow” is a term used for more than one car, and indeed for more than one manufacturer. It was coined by the media to describe the 1930s Mercedes and auto union grand prix cars that were dominating at the time, and has since been used to describe quite a few racing cars.
andae23 (@andae23)
25th April 2013, 14:56
I would say the last Mercedes car that I can kind of see is a silver arrow was the W196, but I mean… seriously, current generation F1 cars are still called ‘silver arrows’? I would much rather have that the W25 would be recognized as the ‘true’ silberpfeile, similar to ‘158’ and ‘Alfetta’ – I get the feeling Mercedes are just over-hyping the name ‘silver arrow’… and that annoys me.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
26th April 2013, 14:08
Oh dear @andae23. I will try my utmost to ensure Mercedes are aware of your displeasure.
I’m absolutely certain they will not be in the least bit bothered.
andae23 (@andae23)
26th April 2013, 14:46
@psynrg that’s very nice, if you’re willing to do that :P
matt90 (@matt90)
25th April 2013, 16:56
I’m surprised that Audi don’t play up to the heritage for their le mans cars, as Auto Unions were silver arrows (and most Audi sportscars have been silver).
Paulocreed (@paulocreed)
25th April 2013, 14:49
He will probably have to pit after one lap to change tyres.
hobo (@hobo)
25th April 2013, 15:02
Ha! He’d be better off in the F2002 or pretty much any of his Ferraris. Surely he owns at least a few of his cars from his first career.
tobinen (@tobinen)
25th April 2013, 14:54
I’d love him to go for a timed lap but I’d be surprised if he does or is allowed to
rankx (@rankx22)
25th April 2013, 14:55
To judge by the picture he doesn’t color his hair any longer.
Mikkel Sørensen (@)
25th April 2013, 17:11
The picture is from 2012.. Taken in Singapore. :)
gdewilde (@gdewilde)
25th April 2013, 19:42
Abu Dhabi*
Mikkel Sørensen (@)
25th April 2013, 19:58
Sorry – confused Yas Marina and Marina bay. xD
Francorchamps (@francorchamps17)
25th April 2013, 16:55
Nurburgring is far too dangerous, it’s easy to go over the barriers with a modern F1. I think he won’t be allowed to do a lap under 7 min or something like that.
Boomerang
25th April 2013, 22:18
The only setup that can ‘safely’ hold F1 on the this track is the one used in Monaco. With maximum ride height, of course. There are few jumps on the track and I’d like to see aerodynamic sensitive car, like modern F1, holding it together without loss of control. Quite challenging indeed.
Mikkel Sørensen (@)
25th April 2013, 17:13
Call me Schumacher crazy, but it makes me happy knowing he will get to race on the Nordschleife.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
25th April 2013, 17:36
If the dangers aren’t too great, I do hope Schumacher is allowed to post a laptime – it’s safe enough for a Zonda R, so an F1 car shouldn’t be too bad I wouldn’t think!
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
25th April 2013, 22:14
I don’t think so the track is too dangerous for an F1 car, the driver in a Zonda R is more protected than he is in an F1 car plus the fact that an F1 car will be much more faster around those dangerous corners I still cannot believe the lap record set by Stefan Bellof in 1983
rankx (@rankx22)
26th April 2013, 11:03
As far as I know, Bellof did the 6:11 on a shorter lap in may 1983. Due to constructions works the lap had been shortened to 20,8 km (instead of 22,8).
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
26th April 2013, 22:16
@tifoso1989 of course the F1 cars will go a good deal faster, but if you change the suspension set-ups and bolt on a set of Bridgestones that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Also, F1 cars are pretty safe!
Bobby (@f1bobby)
25th April 2013, 18:51
I hope they let him take it off the leash.
OmarR-Pepper (@)
25th April 2013, 20:12
Is the old part of the track with proper tarmac? If not, he won’t be allowed to try to break the lap record.
Mike Dee (@mike-dee)
25th April 2013, 21:42
Yes, you can drive on it with your road car. €26 per lap.
So a correctly set up F1 car should be able to manage as well.
Boomerang
25th April 2013, 22:22
The best thing you can do with €26 mate!