Nürburgring GP-Strecke · Nürburg
60 laps · 5.148 km per lap · Pirelli C2 Hard / C3 Medium / C4 Soft
The Nürburgring GP-Strecke is a bonus circuit not on the 2026 calendar, last hosting F1 in 2020. Built in 1984 alongside the legendary 20.8 km Nordschleife, the modern circuit is a far shorter, purpose-built layout, but it retains real character through a mix of technical corners and one genuinely long straight.
The Döttinger Höhe is the circuit's signature feature — a sustained full-throttle straight that rewards a well-set-up car — while the tight Mercedes Arena stadium section at the end of the lap demands precision after the high-speed running that precedes it.
Held in the cooler German climate, the Nürburgring keeps tyre degradation on the milder side of the calendar, and the technical Ford-Kurve/Dunlop-Kehre section in the middle sector provides a genuine test of a car's mechanical grip.
This guide uses the C2 Hard, C3 Medium and C4 Soft, matching the real compound nomination from the circuit's 2020 Eifel Grand Prix. The cooler ambient conditions typical of the Nürburgring keep tyre behaviour relatively predictable across a stint.
Durable enough to anchor a one-stop race in the Nürburgring's milder conditions, forming the backbone of most straightforward strategies.
A common starting tyre and the anchor of two-stop plans, offering a clear pace advantage over the Hard while managing a competitive stint length.
Q3 runners start on the Soft under the usual rules. Its shorter life is a manageable factor given the circuit's moderate degradation overall.
The long straight leading into the Mercedes Arena is the Nürburgring's clearest overtaking zone, and combined with the circuit's technical middle sector, produces a moderate but real overtaking score — enough that qualifying position alone doesn't fully decide the finishing order.
A well-executed exit from the technical Ford-Kurve/Dunlop-Kehre section onto the Döttinger Höhe can build a slipstream advantage significant enough to complete a pass into the stadium chicane at the end of the lap.
The standard plan given the circuit's moderate degradation: start on the Medium, pit once for the Hard, and use the Döttinger Höhe to defend or attack as the race develops.
A pace-focused alternative for a driver who needs to make up ground, using consistently fresher tyres to attack through the Döttinger Höhe and the final stadium section.
Given how much the Döttinger Höhe rewards a good exit from the preceding technical section, drivers often prioritise a clean, well-executed run through Ford-Kurve and Dunlop-Kehre over outright entry speed.
The Döttinger Höhe is by far the Nürburgring's biggest deployment opportunity, rewarding a driver who arrives with a well-charged battery with a genuine top-speed and overtaking advantage.
The technical middle sector and the Mercedes Arena stadium section provide the circuit's main harvesting opportunities, recovering the energy needed for the long straight that follows.
A one-stop is 9.1 s faster than the best two-stop in clean air.
One-stop pit window: lap 21–32 of 60
Single car, no traffic, track position or Safety Car — so PITWALL shows stop count and timing but no compound order: in 2026 the model prefers finishing on softs, while teams mostly ran medium → hard. Model circuit-1. How the model is calibrated →
Build your strategy for the Nürburgring in PITWALL. Nail the exit onto the Döttinger Höhe and put a genuine slipstream battle to the test.
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