| Race information | |
|---|---|
| Number of times held | 23 Nürburgring (12) Valencia Street Circuit (5) Brands Hatch (2)Circuito de Jerez (2)Donington Park (1) Baku City Circuit (1) |
| First held | 1983 |
| Last held | 2016 |
| Most wins (drivers) | Michael Schumacher (6) |
| Most wins (constructors) |  Ferrari (7) |
| Last race (2016) | |
| Pole position | |
| |
| Podium | |
| |
| Fastest lap | |
| |
TheEuropean Grand Prix (also known as theGrand Prix of Europe) was aFormula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from1993 to2012, except in1998. During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a country that hosted its own national Grand Prix at a different point in the same season, at a different circuit (except in2007). The race returned as aone-off in2016, being held on astreet circuit inBaku,Azerbaijan.
In earlier years, the European Grand Prix was not a race in its own right, but an honorific title given to one of the national Grands Prix in Europe. The first race to be so named was the1923 Italian Grand Prix, held atMonza, and the last was the1977 British Grand Prix atSilverstone.
The European Grand Prix was created as an honorific title by the AIACR, theFIA's predecessor in the organisation of motor racing events. The first race to receive the title was theItalian Grand Prix, in 1923; theFrench Grand Prix followed in 1924 and theBelgian Grand Prix in 1925. After a hiatus in 1929, the Belgian race received the title in 1930, becoming the last race to do so beforeWorld War II.
The title was revived by the FIA after the war, when it was given to the1947 Belgian Grand Prix. For the next thirty years (except 1953 and 1969–1971), the title was distributed across several countries, including at the prestigiousMonaco Grand Prix in 1963. The last race to receive the title was the1977 British Grand Prix. All post-war honorific European Grands Prix were Formula One races except for the 1952 event, theBelgian Grand Prix, which was run toFormula Two regulations.
The Italian and Belgian Grands Prix both received the title seven times, more than any other race.
The event was initially created as a stop-gap. In 1983, the Formula One schedule originally featured a race nearFlushing Meadows inNew York City. When the race was cancelled three months before the event, track organisers atBrands Hatch were able to create a European Grand Prix at the track in its place. The success of the event, buoyed by a spirited battle for the World Championship, led to the event returning on the schedule the following year. TheEuropean Grand Prix (held on 25 September 1983) was F1's second visit of 1983 to the Brands Hatch circuit as the venue had held theRace of Champions non-championship race on 10 April earlier that same year.
Brands Hatch was unable to host the European Grand Prix in 1984, as it was hosting theBritish Grand Prix in even numbered years (alternating withSilverstone) so the European GP went to a redesigned and shorterNürburgring circuit in 1984.
Brands Hatch returned to host the European Grand Prix in 1985, Originally the 1985 European Grand Prix was going to be held in Rome on a street circuit around theEUR[1] but was moved to Brands Hatch.
There was an attempt to stage the European Grand Prix in 1986 with an early version of the calendar publishing Jarama as the host track but these plans fell through.
In 1990, a wealthyJapanese businessman,Tomonori Tsurumaki, built theNippon Autopolis with the idea of hosting a Formula One race. In 1992, plans were made to have anAsian Grand Prix in 1993 to replace theMexican Grand Prix on the schedule. However, these plans failed to materialise. Instead,Bernie Ecclestone added a race atDonington Park to the schedule, which brought back the European Grand Prix moniker.The race was the brainchild ofTom Wheatcroft, who had been trying to bring F1 to the track since an abortive attempt to host the British Grand Prix in 1988. The first and so far only Formula One Grand Prix at Donington Park resulted inAyrton Senna's victory in mixed wet and dry conditions.
TheCircuito de Jerez inJerez de la Frontera inSpain was intended to be host of the European Grand Prix in1992 but this was cancelled. However, Jerez would eventually host the event two years later as round 14 of 16 in1994 and the season finale in1997 where it served as replacement for the cancelledPortuguese Grand Prix after theEstoril Circuit was unable to guarantee the completion of circuit safety renovations in time to host a race. The 1997 Jerez race was the site of the controversial collision betweenMichael Schumacher andJacques Villeneuve which saw Schumacher get disqualified from the championship and it was also the scene ofMika Häkkinen's first Formula One victory.
Brands Hatch was unable to host the European Grand Prix in 1984 due to the Kent Circuit being obligated to host the British Grand Prix that year, so the European GP went to a redesigned and shorterNürburgring circuit in 1984. It was a far cry from the 23 kilometre Nürburgring that most were used to seeing, and was initially unpopular during Formula One's return.
The race returned to Nürburgring in 1995, which was now popular again with drivers. But after complaints that no other countries were to get the race, the Nürburgring race was renamed theLuxembourg Grand Prix. Jerez got the race back in 1997 as a replacement for thePortuguese Grand Prix.
In 1998, the European Grand Prix was dropped from the schedule with Jerez dropping off the schedule and the Nürburgring race retaining the Luxembourg Grand Prix moniker for that year, but returned in 1999 when the race at Nürburgring re-adopted the European Grand Prix name.
The 1999 race saw torrential rain conditions which caused numerous retirements, presentingJohnny Herbert with the opportunity to takeStewart Grand Prix's first and only victory in its final season before being sold toFord.
The2005 event saw a dramatic conclusion as Renault's Fernando Alonso took victory after longtime race leaderKimi Räikkönen driving for McLaren crashed out on the final lap suffered a suspension failure caused by excessive vibrations from a flatspotted tyre.[2]
The race continued to be held at theNürburgring until 2007. On 29 August 2006 it was announced that it had been removed from the F1 calendar for the 2007 season. From then there would only be one GP hosted in Germany each year, alternating between Hockenheimring and Nürburgring. However, what the name of this Grand Prix would be was uncertain for a time; while originally intended to be theGerman Grand Prix from 2007,[3] the Nürburgring race of 2007 was renamed "Großer Preis von Europa" (European Grand Prix)[4] due to a dispute over the ownership of the title"German Grand Prix".[5]Fernando Alonso won the2007 event (held in mixed wet-dry conditions) in a McLaren ahead ofFelipe Massa driving for Ferrari and theRed Bull ofMark Webber.[6]
From2008 to2012 the European Grand Prix took place inValencia,Spain. During the 2009 event, Valencia signed a deal for a further 5 races, which put Valencia on the calendar until 2014.[citation needed] Despite this, in March 2012, it was announced that the European Grand Prix was to be discontinued in2013, with theSpanish Grand Prix planned to alternate betweenBarcelona andValencia.[7][failed verification] However, Barcelona has retained the race since 2013, and the Valencia circuit was removed from the calendar.
The European Grand Prix returned to the Formula One World Championship in2016, being held on theBaku City Circuit in Azerbaijan.Nico Rosberg driving forMercedes won the race ahead ofSebastian Vettel andSergio Pérez.[8][9]The race at Baku was renamed theAzerbaijan Grand Prix for the2017 season.[10] This means that the European Grand Prix was again discontinued after a one-off in 2016.
Only includes standalone events.
Drivers inbold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
| Wins | Driver | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Michael Schumacher | 1994,1995,2000,2001,2004,2006 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso | 2005,2007,2012 |
| 2 |  Rubens Barrichello | 2002,2009 |
| Sebastian Vettel | 2010,2011 | |
| Source:[11] | ||
Only includes standalone events.
Teams inbold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
| Wins | Constructor | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Ferrari | 2000,2001,2002,2004,2006,2008,2012 |
| 4 | McLaren | 1984,1993,1997,2007 |
| 3 | Williams | 1985,1996,2003 |
| 2 | Benetton | 1994,1995 |
 Red Bull | 2010,2011 | |
| Source:[11] | ||
Only includes standalone events.
Manufacturers inbold are competing in the Formula One championship in the current season.
| Wins | Manufacturer | Years won |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Ferrari | 2000,2001,2002,2004,2006,2008,2012 |
| 5 |  Renault | 1995,1996,2005,2010,2011 |
| 4 | Mercedes * | 1997,2007,2009,2016 |
| 3 |  Ford ** | 1993,1994,1999 |
| 2 | BMW | 1983,2003 |
| Source:[11] | ||
* Built byIlmor in 1997
** Built byCosworth
A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
