4 Hockenheim (1970-2001)

Vote: 14.0%

Hockenheim didn’t win popularity awards in its early Formula 1 days, perhaps unsurprising given the track near Heidelberg replaced the classic Nurburgring Nordschleife. But the circuit grew to become a favourite.

The layout was characterised by extended full-noise blasts, separated by chicanes, through forest and concluded with the skittish cars – as the track necessitated low-downforce settings – negotiating an incongruent stadium section winding between vast concrete grandstands. And when Michael Schumacher rose to extreme local celebrity his vast and eager German following gave Hockenheim’s grands prix a hot atmosphere.

And it was the changing world around Hockenheim that elevated the venue to the status of a favourite. F1 tracks over time more and more became homogenous, so the alwaysdifferent Hockenheim gained character with its distinction. But then Hockenheim itself became much more standard from 2002 when the forest blasts were bypassed with a new sinuous layout through the infield.