Located in Berlin, AVUS was one of the most extraordinary and intimidating circuits in motorsport and F1 history.
Originally conceived as both a public road and a testing facility for the German motor industry, AVUS was unlike almost any other racing venue. Its layout was brutally simple: two enormous straights connected by a hairpin at either end. Yet that simplicity made it infamous. At its most dramatic, the circuit featured a steeply banked northern curve that helped turn AVUS into one of the fastest — and most dangerous — tracks ever used for Grand Prix racing.
Although it hosted only one Formula One World Championship race, AVUS remains one of the sport’s most iconic historic venues, remembered for its extreme speeds, unusual design and high-risk reputation.
See also…
AVUS Circuit
| First Grand Prix | 1959 German Grand Prix |
| Number of Laps | 60 |
| Circuit Length | 8.300 km |
| Race Distance | 498.000 km |
| Lap Record | 2:04.500 Tony Brooks (1959) |
Circuit
When was the AVUS built?
AVUS — short for Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungsstraße — opened on 24 September 1921 in Berlin.
It was originally designed not just as a racing circuit, but also as a toll road and automotive testing facility. Construction had been planned before the First World War, but delays caused by financial problems and the war itself meant the project was not completed until the early 1920s.
From the outset, AVUS was highly unusual as a racing venue. Rather than a conventional road course, it effectively consisted of two very long straights connected by turns at each end. This made it immensely fast, especially as racing car performance improved through the 1930s.
In 1937, the northern turn was transformed into a spectacular 43-degree, brick-banked corner. With no proper retaining barrier, the banking became notorious and earned the nickname “Wall of Death”.
What made AVUS so unique?
AVUS was one of the purest speed circuits ever used in top-level motorsport.
Its design encouraged massive top speeds, with long periods spent at full throttle and very little technical complexity compared with other Grand Prix venues. The key challenge was not rhythm or cornering variety, but bravery, stability and mechanical reliability at extreme speed.
The most famous feature was the steep Nordkehre banking. Cars approached it at enormous speed, and any mistake could have catastrophic consequences. In the pre-war era, streamlined Grand Prix machinery turned AVUS into a record-breaking arena, with average speeds that were almost unimaginable for the time.
Even after the banking era ended, the circuit remained defined by its huge straights and minimal-corner layout, though repeated shortening and the later addition of chicanes gradually reduced its original character.
When was the first German Grand Prix at AVUS?
AVUS hosted the first international German Grand Prix in 1926, though that race was for sports cars rather than part of the Formula One World Championship.
Its only Formula One World Championship event came much later, with the 1959 German Grand Prix. That race was won by Tony Brooks driving for Ferrari.
The 1959 event is remembered not only for its speed but also for its tragedy. During a supporting sports car race that weekend, French driver Jean Behra was killed after his Porsche went over the top of the banked north curve.
Although AVUS remained in use for national and touring car racing for decades afterwards, Formula One never returned. The banking itself was removed in 1967, and the circuit was progressively shortened over the following years as safety concerns and practical issues made the original layout increasingly unsuitable for modern racing.
AVUS lap record
The official Formula One race lap record at the World Championship version of AVUS is 2:04.500, set by Tony Brooks in a Ferrari Dino 246 during the 1959 German Grand Prix.
While AVUS stayed active for domestic racing until 1998, its place in Formula One history rests on its sheer extremity. Few circuits better captured the danger and speed of early Grand Prix racing, and none looked quite like AVUS.