There is still little hope surrounding a return of the German Grand Prix to the Formula 1 world championship, an event that has been absent from the calendar since 2019. That year, the Circus visited the historic Hockenheim circuit for the last time, before making a brief return to Germany in 2020 at the Nürburgring.
That 2020 race, however, went down in history as the Eifel Grand Prix and was held strictly behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 emergency. Since then, neither of the two iconic German venues has welcomed Formula 1 back, leaving a significant gap in the championship’s European heritage.
The main issues
From that point onwards, both circuits have remained outside the Formula 1 calendar. Recent comments from Lutz Leif Linder, President of the Automobilclub von Deutschland, have highlighted what is considered the only viable solution: state or federal investments to cover the costs, which are currently deemed too high to organise a German Grand Prix on a sustainable basis.
Speaking once again about the possibility of a Formula 1 weekend in Germany, Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali acknowledged the importance of such a historic event. He made it clear that he is ready to open discussions with the local federation in order to try to bring Formula 1 back to Germany, even though the project remains complex despite some encouraging signs.
“The German market is very important, I have said that from the very beginning,” Stefano Domenicali explained to Motorsport Magazin. “We have many partners and manufacturers. It is true that over the past decades we have seen a change: from being one of the most popular sports to something that is no longer considered as such by many interest groups.”
Stefano Domenicali also underlined Formula 1’s current global strength and the abundance of interest from other regions. “The positive thing is that we are not desperate because we have many requests from all over the world. If the German market does not consider the return of Formula 1 to Germany a priority, we have to accept that and look ahead. We are ready and open to any kind of dialogue. I see some positive signs on the horizon. Let’s hope that this continues to develop over the next few months.”
And in the meantime…
While the situation in Germany remains uncertain, there appear to be more concrete signs regarding a possible return of a Grand Prix to the African continent. After South Africa, which last hosted Formula 1 in 1993, Rwanda could emerge as a new candidate to bring the championship back to Africa in the future.
Leave a Reply