The European Grand Prix is a Formula One event that was held during the mid-1980s and has been held mostly regularly since 1993.
Both incarnations of the event were developed as stopgaps. In 1983, the Formula One schedule initially planned on a race in New York. When the race was cancelled three months before the event, track organizers at the Brands Hatch were able to develop 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.
At the time, the Brands Hatch circuit hosted the British GP in even numbered years, alternating with Silverstone, so the European GP went to the "new" shorter Nürburgring circuit in 1984. Nürburgring eventually replaced Hockenheimring for the following year, so Brands Hatch earned the race once again in 1985. That was to be the last European Grand Prix for a while, as a race in Hungary replaced it on the calendar.
During the 1992 season, a wealthy Japanese businessman built a very extravagant race track which he hoped to turn into an Asian Grand Prix the following year, a date on the schedule being open after the departure of the Mexican Grand Prix. The remoteness of the track eventually turned off F1, and it instead accepted an offer from Tom Wheatcroft to host a F1 race at Britain's Donington Park, a long-sought after dream of Wheatcroft's. This race revived the European Grand Prix tag, and was a classic - Ayrton Senna's famous victory in wet/dry conditions saw him essentially lapping the field.
The European race would go to Jerez the following season, and then returned to Nürburgring, which was now popular again with drivers. Because of this it hosted the race again in 1996, but after complaints that no other countries were to get the race, the Nürburgring race was renamed the Luxembourg Grand Prix as Jerez got the race back in 1997. However it was an unpopular race, so after another year with the Luxembourg tag, Nürburgring was the stage for the European Grand Prix again, a race it has now hosted since.
Winners of the European Grands Prix
