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A Weekend at the Nürburgring: What They Don't Show on TV

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The Nürburgring is one of those circuits that gets into your head before you even arrive. Twenty kilometres of corners, crests and commitment. The broadcast cuts to the highlights. This is what happens between them.

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We arrive on Thursday. The engineers have already been there for a day setting up the garage. By the time the drivers walk in, the car is on stands and the laptops are open. The first briefing goes for an hour and a half. Weather, tyres, traffic strategies, safety car procedures. There is very little small talk.

The twenty kilometres nobody talks about

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People ask what the Nordschleife feels like. The honest answer is that it demands a specific kind of trust between driver and car that takes a long time to build. There are corners where you cannot see the exit when you turn in. You commit based on memory, feel and the work you did in the simulator. Get it right and it is the most satisfying feeling in motorsport. Get it wrong and the barriers are close.

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The race itself was one of the most intense sixty minutes I have spent in a car. We started fourth and spent the opening lap managing tyre temperatures while two cars battled hard in front. Patience paid off. By lap three we were running second and we brought it home from there.