Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says he is disappointed that there is very little interest in bringing a Grand Prix back to Germany, despite the presence of the likes of Sebastian Vettel, Mick Schumacher and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team on the grid.
There was not a race on the calendar in 2021, nor is there one planned for 2022, with the last race to be held in Germany the Eifel Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in 2020, a race that was added late in the day as Formula 1 pushed for more races in a heavily COVID-19 affected season.
Formula 1 was extremely popular in Germany back in the 1990s when Michael Schumacher was dominating, and between 1999 and 2007, the country held two races, one at the Nürburgring and the other at the Hockenheimring.
The two circuits also alternated hosting a race between 2008 and 2014 before the Nürburgring dropped out, while the Hockenheimring hosted races in 2016 and 2018 before it too stopped.
Domenicali says it is important for the traditional Grand Prix countries to maintain their prescence on the Formula 1 calendar, and he says he will be happy to see Germany resume its place on the schedule should a venue become interested again in playing host.
“We have to make sure the traditional grands prix keep their place,” Domenicali said to German publication Sport1.
“And believe me, I’m disappointed and also sad that we don’t have a German Grand Prix at the moment. But unfortunately, I don’t see any real interest from Germany in becoming part of the Formula 1 calendar again. That’s a shame and actually hard to believe. I hope this will change again in the future.
“We have so many requests from all over the world. We could easily race on 30 different circuits. And to see that nobody from Germany is ringing the bell is regrettable.”
Domenicali says he will never forget the days of seeing Michael Schumacher racing in front of his passionate fans in Germany, and he hopes something clicks in the country that will open up the opportunities again for running a race.
“I’ll never forget those good old days,” said Domenicali. “The Germans are passionate motorsport fans, and the atmosphere at the Nürburgring and Hockenheim was always fantastic. Given that interest, I don’t think the right answer is being given at the moment.
“That’s another reason why I want to start talking to the promoters, but also other interested parties in Germany, at the beginning of 2022. It should be an open discussion to sound out how Formula 1 can return to Germany. And I will play an active role in this.”