Hockenheim circuit in talks with F1 over 2022 vacant calendar date. Hockenheim ‘in talks’ over vacant F1 calendar date.

Formula 1 is looking for a solution to replace the Russian Grand Prix, which has been removed from the calendar as a result of the tragic events which are taking place in Ukraine. According to recent reports the vacant gap left by the Sochi race this year could be filled by Hockenheim after a former driver confirmed the circuit boss is currently discussing this possibility with Formula 1.

The Hockenheimring hosted a Formula 1 event three years ago, when Red Bull Racing Dutch driver Max Verstappen took the win, but the event has been missing from the calendar since then.

The German Grand Prix used to be a stalwart of the Formula 1 calendar, only absent twice from the first official F1 championship in 1950 to 2014, and on one of those occasions a European Grand Prix still took place in Germany.

Italian manager and the current CEO of Formula One Group Stefano Domenicali recently admitted that he was “disappointed and also sad” there was no German Grand Prix but also said: “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,” he said, according to Sport1 – “We have so many requests from all over the world. We could easily race on 30 different circuits. And to see nobody from Germany is ringing the bell is regrettable.” – he explained.

But now there is fresh hope that Hockenheim could return to Formula One calendar this year as the search continues to replace the Russian Grand Prix: “The initiative has been taken to get this grand prix back in Germany,” former driver Christian Danner, an ambassador for the German automobile club AvD, told Sport1.

However, he is aware that financial problems are still the key aspects and hopes for a solution similar to what was given to Imola.

“At Imola, there was a huge discount and a three-year contract. That’s what we want in Germany now,” Danner added.

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If a German Grand Prix will indeed take place in 2022, most likely it will not be held at the Nurburgring circuit with reports it could soon face sanctions as it is 99 per cent owned by NR Holding, which is linked to Moscow-based pharmaceutical billionaire Viktor Kharitonin.

Former F1 boss Stefano Domenicali explained he would play an “active role” in securing a race in Germany and pointed to the Dutch Grand Prix as a template to hold a Formula 1 event without government funding.

“Zandvoort is not too far from Germany. There is a private organiser there who has sold tickets three years in advance – thanks, of course, to Max Verstappen. If I had something to say in Germany, I would invest in drivers. Although you are already well positioned there. With Seb [Vettel] you have a four-time former World Champion and an incredibly talented driver in the field. You have Mick Schumacher, who is at the beginning of a promising career.”