The Nürburgring Nordschleife is not a normal race track. Whereas modern circuits are designed with generous run-off areas and clear corner combinations, the Nordschleife snakes over 20.8 kilometres through the hills and forests of the Eifel. The circuit features more than seventy corners, spans an elevation change of around 300 metres, and alternates blind crests with fast descents. No driver can take in the entire track at a glance — it must be learned corner by corner, and even experienced drivers spend years mastering all its nuances.

The nickname ‘Green Hell’ — in German ‘Grüne Hölle’ — is attributed to Jackie Stewart, who described the circuit that way in the 1960s. Stewart won there multiple times but also harboured a deep dislike for its dangers. The name captured two things: the green of the endless tree lines around the circuit and the hell of a track that punished the slightest mistake mercilessly. In an era without modern guardrails, gravel traps, or marshal posts on every corner, a mistake on the Nordschleife was life-threatening.

The danger of the Nordschleife came to worldwide attention due to Niki Lauda’s severe accident during the 1976 German Grand Prix. Lauda crashed heavily, became trapped in his burning Ferrari, and narrowly survived. The crash became the symbolic endpoint for Formula 1 on the old Nordschleife: the circuit was simply too long and too remote to get help to a crash site quickly. Formula 1 then moved to a new, safer Grand Prix circuit built next to the old track.

Today’s Nordschleife is safer than in Lauda’s time: additional guardrails have been installed, run-off areas improved, and medical infrastructure greatly expanded. Still, the circuit remains uniquely demanding. The combination of high speeds, blind corners, varying asphalt, and the notorious Eifel weather — where it can be dry on one part of the track and raining on another — makes every lap a risk assessment. Drivers speak with reverence about the Nordschleife precisely because the circuit does not forgive mistakes. Setting a fast lap on the Nordschleife is still regarded as one of the greatest challenges in motorsport.

That Max Verstappen raced the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring this weekend is precisely what makes it so special. The Nordschleife is not a circuit you can just ‘pick up’. Since 2025, Verstappen has driven several smaller races on the track to earn his Nordschleife permit and build experience. For a driver used to the polished, predictable circuits of Formula 1, a 24-hour race on the Green Hell is a completely different challenge: 24 hours straight, day and night, in changing conditions, on the circuit whose reputation is built on the fact that it spares no one.

• The nickname ‘the Green Hell’ is attributed to Jackie Stewart (1960s)

• The Nordschleife is 20.8 kilometres long with more than seventy corners and roughly 300 metres of elevation change

• Niki Lauda’s severe 1976 crash marked the end of F1 on the old track

• The circuit is now safer but is still considered the toughest test in motorsport

• The notorious Eifel weather can make it dry on one part of the track and raining on another

• Since 2025, Verstappen has built experience with shorter races to earn his permit