The German Grand Prix only became part of the Formula One World Championship in 1951.

Since 1977, the Hockenheimring has become the German Grand Prix's permanent home, with the exception of 1985 which was held on the new 4.5km (2.8mi) Nürburgring. In 1984 an additional F1 race had already been held at the Nürburgring following the inauguration of its modern "Grand Prix Strecke" layout. Following the success of Schumacher, this went on to become the venue for a second annual F1 race in Germany, the European Grand Prix or luxembourg Grand Prix since 1995.

In 2006 it was reported that from 2007 until 2010, the German Grand Prix would be shared between the Nürburgring (former home of the European Grand Prix) and the Hockenheimring. The former would hold the races in 2007 and 2009 and the latter in 2008 and 2010. However, the name for the 2007 Grand Prix was later changed. While it was originally intended to be the German Grand Prix, the Nürburgring currently lists the 2007 event as "Großer Preis von Europa" (European Grand Prix).