Grand Prix motor racing came to Switzerland in 1934 at the Bremgarten circuit, located just outside the town of Bremgarten, near the Swiss de facto capital of Bern. The circuit was a fast 7.27-kilometre stretch made up of public roads running through countryside and forests, with sweeping corners and no real length of straight. Tree-lined roads, often poor light conditions, and changes in road surface made it a very dangerous circuit — especially in the wet, when the overhanging trees continued dripping water onto the tarmac for at least an hour after rain stopped. Conditions were compared to those of the Nürburgring in West Germany.
The first Swiss Grand Prix was a non-championship race won by Hans Stuck in an Auto Union. British driver Hugh Hamilton died after the left front wheel of his Maserati broke at the Wohlenstrasse corner, causing the car to hit a tree and disintegrate. The Swiss Grand Prix counted toward the European Championship from 1935 to 1939, during which it was dominated by the German Silver Arrows.
Racing returned after World War II with the Bremgarten track still the venue. The first post-war race was won by Frenchman Jean-Pierre Wimille. In 1948 the event was designated the European Grand Prix. That race saw multiple fatalities: veteran Italian racer Achille Varzi died during a rain-soaked practice session when his Alfa Romeo overturned and the 700 kg car crushed him — helmets were not compulsory at the time. Swiss driver Christian Kautz also died after going off the road and crashing into an embankment at the second Eymatt corner. The race was won by Carlo Felice Trossi. Frenchman Maurice Trintignant survived another accident but spent eight days in a coma.
The 1950 Swiss Grand Prix was inducted into the new Formula One World Championship, won by Italian Nino Farina, who went on to be the first Formula One world champion. Juan Manuel Fangio won in 1951 after capitalising on Farina's decision not to pit for fresh tyres in changing wet-to-dry conditions. In 1952, Piero Taruffi scored his first and only F1 victory; it was also the only championship race that year — aside from the Indianapolis 500 — not won by his Ferrari teammate Alberto Ascari. A support sportscar race that year saw pre-war great Rudolf Caracciola crash into a tree, breaking his leg and effectively ending his career. In 1953, Ascari fought back from a pit stop to overtake Fangio, Nino Farina, and Mike Hawthorn and take victory, also securing his second Drivers' Championship that weekend. In 1954, Fangio, now driving a Mercedes, led from start to finish in rainy conditions to take his second Drivers' Championship from compatriot José Froilán González.
After the 1955 Le Mans disaster in France killed more than 80 people, the Swiss government declared circuit motor racing to be an unsafe sport and banned it. The organizers cancelled that year's Swiss Grand Prix, and the Bremgarten circuit was abandoned and never used for motor racing again.
The Swiss Grand Prix returned in 1975 as a non-championship race held just across the border at Dijon-Prenois in France. Swiss driver Clay Regazzoni won. The race returned to the Formula One World Championship in 1982, again at Dijon and again organised by the Swiss Automobile Club. Keke Rosberg, driving for Williams, secured his first Formula One victory in what proved to be his Championship-winning season. Rosberg passed several cars including backmarker Andrea de Cesaris and then caught and passed polesitter Alain Prost to take the win.
On 6 June 2007, the National Council voted 97 to 77 to lift the ban on circuit racing in Switzerland, but the legislation was not subsequently ratified by the Council of States. In 2015 the Swiss government permitted head-to-head racing for electric vehicles only. On 10 June 2018, Switzerland hosted its first motor race in 64 years when the Zürich ePrix was held as a round of the all-electric Formula E championship.
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