Exploring Berlin’s ABANDONED F1 track

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Berlin once had the fastest Formula 1 track in the world – the legendary AVUS circuit!

From its origins in the 1920s to its terrifying “Wall of Death” banking, AVUS was a racetrack like no other. It hosted rocket cars, Silver Arrows, and even the 1959 German Grand Prix – the only official F1 race in West Berlin’s history. Drivers reached record-breaking speeds on its long straights, but the dangers were extreme, with crashes that changed racing forever.

In this video, we uncover the story of AVUS:

🏎️ The world’s first motorway-style racetrack
⚡ How it became the “fastest F1 track” of its era
🧱 The rise and fall of its infamous 43° banking
🔥 Why AVUS is remembered as both a triumph and a tragedy in motorsport history

If you’ve ever wondered what happened to this abandoned F1 track, how it became just another stretch of autobahn, and what hidden, abandoned bits of it are left, then watch along as I interview Tommy and we explore the remnants of the legendary AVUS!

This video is a collaboration with Tommy from ‪@mattp1tommy‬ – if you're into F1 you need to follow them!

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Edited by Underpaid Mantis, https://www.underpaidmantis.com

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Sources
Blick Zurück Podcast - 100 Jahre AVUS, https://www.bz-berlin.de/archiv-artik...

AVUS - Germany's Temple Of Speed (And what's left of it...) by ‪@bsport320‬    • AVUS - Germany's Temple Of Speed (And what...  

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Image Credits

Licences
Creative Commons BY 2.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Creative Commons BY-SA 2.5: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
CC0 (Public Domain Dedication)

Bundesarchiv (via Wikimedia Commons)
Bild 102-02915 (Georg Pahl), CC BY-SA 3.0
Bild 102-06076, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bild 102-08916 (Georg Pahl), CC BY-SA 3.0
Bild 102-13507, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bild 146-1979-074-36A (Otto Hagemann), CC BY-SA 3.0
Bild 183-1991-1209-503, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bild 183-2007-0625-500, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bild 183-2007-0625-501, CC BY-SA 3.0
B 145 Bild-P016402, CC BY-SA 3.0

Other Creative Commons Images (via Wikimedia Commons)
Aftermath of the Le Mans disaster (Geoff Charles), CC BY-SA 4.0
Berlin Wall Map (ChrisO), CC BY-SA 3.0
Circuit Park Zandvoort from air (Otto Karikoski), CC BY-SA 4.0
Circuit Zandvoort race track (dronepicr), CC BY 2.0
Cold War Europe military alliances map (San Jose, 2006), CC BY-SA 3.0
Heidi Hetzer am Brandenburger Tor (Fridolin freudenfett), CC BY-SA 4.0
Jean Behra, 1955 (National Archives of Norway), CC BY 4.0
Juan Manuel Fangio, 1955 (National Archives of Norway), CC BY 4.0
Opel 1911 Hetzer (KarleHorn, German Wikipedia), CC BY-SA 3.0
Opel Diplomat A IMG 5583 (Alexander Migl), CC BY-SA 4.0
Opel RAK – 2NMR, CC BY-SA 4.0
Porsche-Team (Huschke von Hanstein, Sioux GmbH), CC BY-SA 4.0
TCA Nr. 001 Prototyp Automuseum (Hajotthu), CC BY-SA 3.0
Von Trips at 1961 Dutch Grand Prix (Harry Pot), CC BY-SA 3.0 NL
Willy Brandt (Friedhelm Schillo), CC BY-SA 4.0
Willy Brandt 1961 (Eric Koch / Anefo), CC0

Additional Images
Circuit AVUS (Rumbin), Public domain
District of Berlin in the GDR (TUBS), CC BY-SA 2.5
Dr. Cornelius Löwe († 1932/33), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Mur de Berlin en juillet 1980 (Olivier Victor Marius Dumay), CC BY-SA 4.0
Pharus Plan 1913, Public domain

Copyrighted Images
Additional images copyright Audi
Additional images copyright Mercedes
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