A Formula E race at the Norisring in June 2027 is now being considered as a serious possibility as the all-electric world championship starts to form deals for its first Gen4 calendar.
Formula E has raced at the Berlin Tempelhof airfield in 10 of its 11 full seasons so far - it is the only circuit to have enjoyed such continuity in the series.
Formula E will continue at the German heritage facility this year when it begins a mini European leg, along with the Monaco E-Prix double header in May.
The Tempelhof airfield has seen several different iterations of circuit since 2015, but it is now being viewed by Formula E and several of its competitors as having run its course as a venue.
Formula E first looked at the Norisring in late 2015 when it became clear that an event for its second season could not take place at Tempelhof. This was because the airfield had been repurposed for Syrian refugees escaping the widespread conflict in the country.
That triggered a one-off move to a specially-built circuit in central Berlin at the busy Alexanderplatz area, a race won by Sebastien Buemi in an e.dams Renault.
The Norisring talks are believed to have started in 2025 between Formula E and the city of Nuremberg, and if a deal is reached, it could feature a back-to-back event with the traditional DTM event, which is expected to take place over the weekend of 4-5 July 2027. That could mean that Formula E gets its own weekend on the 26-27 June, opening the prospect for cross-promotion for the events.
But a deal is far from agreed for a possible visit to the German city - with Formula E's vice president for host cities Oli McCrudden telling The Race that any event at the venue has to be carefully considered with maximum cooperation with the city and all suppliers related to building the track for an event.
“The impact of that circuit build on the city needs to be limited,” said McCrudden.
“They've got other major events that happen at that time of year as well. So, if we are to start thinking about going into those sorts of races, we very much have to be sympathetic of residents, businesses, and the other event [DTM] that's got a business that they've been making happen for a long time.”
But Formula E is adamant that a race must take place in Germany, largely due to the commitment shown by Porsche, which has doubled in the sense that its competitive model will embrace a doubling of its factory cars for the Gen4 period.
“Germany is like the UK in that it must stay on the calendar, and it's key,” added McCrudden.
"Berlin has been cool. But 10, 11 years on the calendar, maybe it is time to do something different, to refresh it a little bit. The option still exists to go back to Tempelhof.”
Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds also told The Race that he “loved the [DTM Norisring] race” and that the Norisring was “a fantastic street circuit".
“An enormous amount of people turn up for it out there and it’s a great racing venue," Dodds said. "But then there'll be a lot of people [in Formula E] that have an enormous amount of warmth and favouritism towards Berlin and the fact that that's an iconic electric racing circuit that we've made our own."
Dodds also teased a hint that, as first reported by The Race last spring, Opel will be confirmed as a new manufacturer in Formula E via a Stellantis licence acquisition for next season. This could be officially confirmed at the Berlin E-Prix in early May.
“Maybe we even have more than one German manufacturer and then it becomes an even bigger market for us,” said Dodds.
Why Norisring would be so popular
The Norisring circuit holds a special cult status within motorsport as one of the last ‘pop-up’ street venues holding top-class motorsport in Europe. Challenging street tracks such as Montjuich Park, Birmingham and Brno have all long since disappeared, while Pau has been significantly scaled back to much smaller activities.
But Norisring continues to host an annual major event and is almost unique in the sense of being a genuine street circuit in the heart of an urban environment.
The Norisring DTM weekend is popular with drivers, teams and fans, with a high retention of customers year-on-year. It has hosted a variety of racing throughout its history, including Group C in the 1980s and ITC in the mid-nineties.
Porsche’s Nico Mueller, who still holds the Class 1 touringcar lap record at the venue, told The Race that Formula E racing on the historic street circuit would be “really cool".
“I love the venue as I've raced there in DTM several times, won there, made some good memories with my first DTM win there [in 2016],” added Mueller.
“To be honest, I think with the Gen4 car, it would be a very exciting track that maybe needs some small adaptations because we would reach insane speeds out of the last corner, especially the Dutzendteich Kurve [last corner]. But I think there should be room to do something."
Mueller’s team boss at Porsche, Florian Modlinger, said that a Formula E event at Norisring would be “very special”.
“It's an exciting track, exciting for the spectators and if I could imagine now these Gen4 beasts on these streets with and at which top speeds they will arrive into braking at Turn 1, it will be really impressive.
“But we should not underestimate the requirements that the Norisring gives to a car. From the brakes, the brake cooling, how bumpy the track is. There are several special things which you need to attack early enough to make a good race happen there.”
