George Russell and Oscar Piastri back Nürburgring return to F1 calendar

Taking part in a Pirelli tyre test this week, the Mercedes and McLaren drivers both praised the 'old school' feel of the Nürburgring, which hasn't held F1 racing since the 2020 Eifel Grand Prix.

Due to a technical issue on Tuesday, Piastri only completed a total of 65 laps compared to Russell's 127, but both teams have another chance to test with Lando Norris and Kimi Antonelli in action on Wednesday.

Mercedes and McLaren are not the only members from the F1 world to feature at the iconic circuit this week, as Max Verstappen is set to take on the ADAC 24h Nurburgring Qualifiers at the Nordschleife section of the track this weekend.

Speaking to Sky Sports after taking part in the Pirelli test, Russell was keen to express his enjoyment at the historic circuit, and suggested the Nürburgring should make a return to F1.

He said: "I’ve really enjoyed driving this morning, I really love the Nurburgring. I’ve done a few laps of the Nordschleife as well, really, really love that.

While McLaren's Piastri seemed a tad less enthusiastic overall about the track, he too agreed on a return to the F1 calendar for the Nürburgring, highlighting the high-reward nature of the circuit.

"Sure, I don’t mind it. It’s not my favourite track ever, but it’s a really cool place in terms of how unique it is.

“There’s a lot of elevation change, obviously the history of this place is very cool as well. And again, it’s a very old school track, which I think as drivers, we always enjoy that part of things."

“Even if the layout is different from circuit to circuit, the kind of old-school nature of the curbs and the runoffs is always more rewarding when you get things right. So, it would be cool, but we’ll see."

Despite the 654km running distance on Tuesday, Mercedes were not allowed to make any developmental progress during the Pirelli test, but this didn't prevent Russell from being asked about the Silver Arrows' slow race starts this season.

Despite winning all three of the opening races in 2026, Mercedes have struggled off the line so far this year, with both Russell and Antonelli losing places at the start more often than not.

Russell said: "We’re here because it’s a Pirelli tyre test, so we’re not allowed to do any starts, and that’s the same for every team when they do tyre testing.

“But we’re working a lot behind the scenes, just analysing the data. Our sport is different because you don’t get the opportunity to practice so much. It’s part of the rules that you’re not allowed to drive.

"Of course, we would love to be out there doing loads and loads of starts. We have some ideas where we’ve been falling short on the starts, so hopefully, we can keep going on that.”